A Soul Of A Rose
by ReticentNinja
Summary: Problems always have a way to track me down. I never wanted problems, but tragically, life doesn't work like that. From my world to a new, I am Ruby Rose and yet, I am not. Faunus!Ruby
1. Ruby Rose

Lightning and thunder erupted in the haze of black clouds that stretched thinly across the starless sky. Afraid of the intense ominous aura that was surging through the altar of the temple, wild griffons and dragons extended their wings to take flight, hoping to retreat.

This was not suppose to happen. We were suppose to stop the revival of that thing...That monster... The Creator. Dust and debris engulfed the air blinding my vision. I held my arm in place to shield my eyes from stray particles, but a few found its way in my mouth and into my throat, tasting the salty and grainy texture. My dry, hacking cough echoed through the now ruined temple, grabbing my teammates attention.

"Captain, are you alright?"

I turned my head towards the deep masculine voice and peeked over my arm. The dusty air soon began to settle and a man with small black horns poking out of his short white hair appeared in the clearing.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You know me and my big o' mouth. I have to get everything out of my system y'know?" I chuckled. Before I get a chance to count my remaining teammates, another dark ball of aura appeared in the middle of the altar. Rather a highly concentrated aura blasting within radius, it was molding into something... A figure.

"Shit! He's coming!" A feminine voice yelled out. The female with long chestnut hair unfurled her white feathery wings.

I licked my dry lips and focused my gaze on the forming figure. A man with long raven hair that rivaled the night sky stood in the middle of the altar with eyes still closed. Ancient markings painted over his entire upper body, thick scale-like spikes protruded from his entire forearm, and beastly features covered his lower limbs. But that was not what my eyes were fixated on. It was glued to that freakishly large double edge sword that was impaled on the ground towering over him. The sword was beautifully and elegantly engraved with symbols on its entire sharp blade.

I wanted it. Look at that gigantic sexy sword. Yep, I'm gonna tak- No. Stop. Focus! I shook my head clearing my overly obsessive weapon thoughts.

The Creator drew a deep long breath and opened his eyes. Bottomless pools of emeralds studied my teammates and his smile pointed upwards, showing his ghastly sharp teeth.

"Royalties of demons and angels working together!" He laughed. "I should be honored to be grace by your appearances." The Creator took a theatrical bow and turned his head towards me. "Ah, of course I could not forget about you, Sword Angel. The irony when you're not even from the Angel race. Care to remind me of what you are? My memory is a little bit... fuzzy after our incident."

"None of your damn concern when you're going to be buried a hundred feet down under," I growled. A hundred feet, no a thousand feet was definitely possible for me. After all, I was born from a prestigious race, a race that was now extinct.

"Now, is that a way to talk to an old friend of yours?" The creator's grin was replaced with a frown.

"Old friend, my ass. We only knew each other briefly from our previous battle. I sealed you once and now I'm going to put an end to it," I snapped.

Ending his life was definitely not feasible even though I was gifted with a mass amount of aura...Power. I may be one hell of an omnipotent being but I was no god. Hell, I wasn't even confident if I could put him in a body bag now after all these years. The best I could've done was to put him away and prevent anyone from unlocking the seal.

And how was someone able to unlock a high-tier magic seal that I, myself, created? Oh, how I would love to know.

"Everyone, stand down. This is my battle" I growled and readied my blade.

I didn't want to risk any more lives of my teammates - my family that I built. Despite the absurd amount of power they hold, I couldn't risk it. If I was considered the strongest amongst them and I couldn't kill that motherfucker in the first place then how could they ever best him? It would be suicide.

My teammates hesitated but abided. They couldn't reject their orders in the first place considering I am their captain - the leader of our guild.

I quickstepped forward leaving only a speck of dust behind. With frightening speed, I instantly flashed before The Creator's eyes. I swung my blade with both hands towards his neck but my blade hugged air instead. Even when he hadn't trained in a century, he was still fast. I cursed to myself for my poor judgment. Suddenly, I felt a forceful impact on the side of my ribs, knocking me through a line of standing unbroken pillars.

Fucking hell that kick hurts.

Catching myself midair, I materialized wings using my aura and darted towards my enemy who was idly standing, waiting for me.

Using my expanse amount of aura, I generated and surrounded myself with bright swords that shimmered against the darkness, living up to my nickname that was bestowed upon me, Sword Angel. Snapping my fingers, the radiating swords danced around the unsealed monster.

"Swords, rain down." I whispered the magical chant. The swords obeyed and laid waste to everything in its pathway. Clouds of dust shrouded the ruined temple once more.

I gently landed on the floor and shut my eyes to pinpoint his location. There was no way he was dead because he knew my trademark ability. He experienced it firsthand and it was only wishful thinking that I could end his life right then and there.

My senses picked up a faint aura emission not too far in front of me. I dashed towards the source and swung my blade down only to hear a 'clang' resound across the decimated temple. The impact of the two weapons blew the dust away, allowing my vision to gaze up to an obnoxiously large sword and a smug face.

I took a few steps back and dashed forward again, gripping my weapon with one hand and hoping to attack with more speed than power. Loud clangs vibrated through the air as my blade struck his sword. The hybrid beast smirked and grinded his massacring tool against my weapon knocking it out of my hands, disarming me in the process.

I frowned at the sight and quickly channeled my aura down to my arms and onto my wrist. Light particles swarmed in the air around my hands, and with a flick, two tyrfings snug tightly in my grasp as I brandish my dual swords.

"Ah, I remember now. Another of your trademark abilities inherited from your race. Each time someone falls by your hands, you absorb their weapons... A weapon collector of some sorts." He hummed. "A murderer just like me. I would expect no less from the race of -"

I cut short of his sentence as I flashed behind him, swinging down my weapons. The Creator rewarded my rude interruption with a scowl and seized his edged sword to block my ambush.

The weight of my two swords could never compare to his. But it didn't matter, because skills beat strength. Between every blows of our swords, I expertly adjusted my two weapons so the massive sword wouldn't cleave them in half. My pace picked up as I started to barrage him with quick strikes.

Faster.

I need to be faster.

The tatted creature furrowed his eyebrows as his heavy sword couldn't keep up with the rapid onslaught. A few cuts marked his muscular body with blood slowly trickling down from it. My assaults pressed on as I swung my dual swords in a mesmeric dance, leaving no openings for my opponent.

Displeased with the current situation, he readied his large sword and blocked both tyrfings. He retaliated back with a loud grunt as his sword crashed down above my head. I dodge his counterattack but immediately lost my balance as his weapon obliterated the floor, sending seismic waves.

"Allow me to experiment a new spell that I was in the progress of working on," The Creator said proudly.

Before I could find my footing, he launched his scaly hands, gripped my face, and smashed my head against the stone cold floor. Broken pieces of rubble littered everywhere as the back of my head forcefully pulverized the floor.

"Now witness! A soul annihilation spell!" The hybrid creature exclaimed. "Farewell Sword Angel."

My eyes widen as I heard the words 'soul' and 'spell'. Soul spells were forbidden black magic that was forgotten for millennium. Of course I heard of it, but comprehending the depth of that magic was out of my scope. I could never understand ancient language even if I tried. All I knew was that a body without a soul goes through eternal pain and suffering. But of course, that was just a legend. It was never proven and could never be proven because no one was capable of making such accomplishment... Until now.

A surge of pain erupted all over my body and I screamed in agony, but my voice was muffled by the hand still gripping onto my face. Screaming. Pain. Everything hurts. Rather than helplessly flailing around, my hands gripped onto the arm that was still clinging onto my face. I tried to pry his arm off but there was no use. My strength and my aura were drained. And the last thing that I remembered before I blacked out? Me screaming.

* * *

Screaming. Lots of screaming. No, wait crying. Yeah that's the right word... Crying. What the fuck? Crying? Why am I crying?

"Oh honey, our baby! Look at our beautiful baby!" A female voice can be heard but it sounded awfully tired with a few pants between her words.

"You did a wonderful job honey. Now I am blessed with a wonderful wife and two daughters." A masculine, but gentle and loving voice entered through my subconscious.

"I want to name her... Ruby. Yes, Ruby. Welcome to Remnant, my little rose."

"That's a beautiful name, Summer."

Remnant? What's a Remnant?

I ceased my crying and opened my tear stained eyes. I gave it a moment and blinked several times to clear up the leftover water residues until my sight gained a clearing.

What I saw was clearly not what I expected. A woman in her late 20's with deeply dark red hair. Wolfish ears with red colored tips perked out of her head. And her eyes, it was her eyes that captured me. Those brilliant pool of silver eyes that lit brightly like the full moon. My gaze broke off silver as I was suddenly passed off to a blond man with spots of short stubbles on his. I gazed into the man's blue eyes and my eyes widen.

"What. The. Fuck. Is. Happening," I cried out. Baby babbles and cries left my mouth rather than my intentional cursing. I tried thrashing to escape but my body refused to listen.

"Tai! Your terrible shave is scaring our baby!" Summer joked. "Her eyes bulged and started crying again after she saw you."

Tai pouted and played along, "Oh please, I'm sure she enjoys my masculine facial hair!" He rubbed his prickly chin against me to display his adoring affection. Unable to control my bodily functions, my cries grew louder, surprising the father as he doesn't understand how much it hurts to get pricked by a porcupine.

"Right..." Tai nervously rubbed his chin, brushing his hand against his stubbles. "Well, I better check up on our other little sunny girl. I'm sure she really wants to see her newly born sister." Tai kissed Summer on the forehead. "I'll be back soon." He walked out towards the wooden door and closed it behind him.

I continued my cries while trying to process the new information. A difficult feat to cry and to think at the same time, but I somehow made it a possibility. I went through a check list in my head, marking the details that had just occurred.

According to these strange people, my name is Ruby and I was just born. This woman, named Summer, is most likely my mother and the blond man, named Tai, must be my father. Apparently, I have a sister but that remains to be seen. And judging from my previous attempts, my body isn't cohesive as I want it to be. Either I'm possessed and someone is controlling my behavior, or my actions can't process everything correctly due to my high mental capabilities. Most likely the latter considering I still retained all of my memories... Especially the battle with The Creator.

"Oh shit!" I exclaimed, but more baby nonsense departed from my mouth making Summer smile.

My body tensed up as I took a brief walk on memory road. That's right, he used that damn forbidden magic... which means... I'm dead? No, I'm supposed to experience excruciating pain. Right now, I'm feeling more perplex rather than the rumored eternal suffering.

I let out a breath of relief but my infant body released a deep grunt. Perhaps The Creator's spell screwed up if the magic was still in the process of development. Maybe my soul was transferred? Or maybe swapped? Of course, these guesses were wishful thinking. But one thing for sure is that there's no point of trying to find a way back into my original body. It was extremely difficult, or rather, impossible to reverse a spell that I barely knew of. Logically, I wouldn't know where to begin knowing that ancient language was beyond my capability.

I internally sighed as I was mentally exhausted from the spontaneous strange occurrences. I set my thoughts to the side because I needed to focus on my current predicament. Like how to functionally work this damn uncoordinated body! I flustered around in Summer's arms trying to adjust to my new arrived body.

"Now now. Settle down my little pup," Summer coo'd and kissed the top of my head.

Smaller twitches vibrated on top of my head after the woman left a kiss. Ears? Well, that's just cute. I have ears! Never in my lifetime was I gifted with animal features or any marks to proudly represent my race. I felt a slight pang from my behind. Something was stuck and was trying to move.

What the fuck was that unpleasant thing squirming behind me?

Summer kissed me again and left a lingering touch of warmness on my soft cheeks. Her light kisses were alien to me as I never experienced such motherly affection. It brought unwanted memories about my pasts, about my own real family. However, there wasn't much to think about seeing as I barely have any recollection of my parents. After all, they just left me to struggle and fend for myself in the unruly world.

The world was harsh as there were constant wars between guilds, trying to conquer territories for themselves. There was no such thing as a unified kingdom. Guilds ruled the lands, and formed alliances with one another. They built cities and towns for their own selfish welfare. If you were in a guild or associated with it in some way then you can be counted as lucky. Unfortunately for me, Lady Luck enjoyed watching me suffer with a side of popcorn and a soda. Every guild within vicinity turned me away because I was just another street rat, unwanted and abandon by my parents.

'Mom.' I internally said to myself, breaking my bitter thoughts away. The word 'mom' echoed in my head and left a tingling sensation. It had a really nice ring to it. My small lips cracked a genuine smile for the first time since my arrival.

You know what? I think it's time to act my age for once. I never had an actual chance to enjoy the life of a normal kid.


	2. A Life With Summer

Scratch what I said about trying to act my age. Why? Because it was practically impossible and downright awkward. And exactly what was awkward?

Breastfeeding.

There was nothing wrong with it. I was an infant and I needed the nutrients. That was normal. However, there was absolutely nothing normal about me. Being mentally aware that I, a mature adult, was being breastfed was just... Weird.

Oh how I wished I was normal right now, to be able to grow up with no recollection. But that was impossible. I have to live with a vivid memory of Summer _directly_ giving me my sustenance.

* * *

5 Months Old Ruby

Summer hummed as she walked down the stairs, holding me tightly in her arms. From the few months that I had been here, life in some aspects was quite... _Different._

Never in my life had I heard of huntsmen and huntresses. Were they a new undiscovered race? I don't know, it could be. Were they some sort of monsters? Probably not, because mom and dad were considered to be one of them. They didn't look like monsters to me. Was it a job title? Maybe, considering that they sometimes left the house from time to time, bringing back money and bruises.

What I do know was that huntsmen and huntresses were the main topic of everyone's conversation. They were always associated with something called grimm. And what was grimm? I don't know. Maybe a new undiscovered monster. Or perhaps it was a new guild, trying to make a name for itself.

But things didn't make sense to me. Huntsmen? Huntresses? Grimm? These were extremely foreign subjects to me. I had no idea what the hell they were or let alone heard of it. In fact, it was a severe blow to my pride. A good portion of my guild specialized in gathering information. Why?

Because knowledge was power.

Then many questions were answered when mom took Yang, my energy induced sister who was two years older, and I for an outside stroll. Nothing around my surroundings looked familiar in my eyes. For a race that had a high life expectancy, I knew majority of the lands like the back of my hand. It was quite hard to forget such a beautiful, peaceful small town when you lived for at least a century. Then a couple of days later, it suddenly dawned on me.

I wasn't in my world anymore.

Yang trailed behind mom down the staircase, gripping onto her signature white cloak, and steadily trying to balance herself as she walked down the stairs with her stubby little legs. Reaching down the stairs, Yang skipped pass Summer from the living room and into the kitchen.

"Yang, honey. What would you like for breakfast?" Summer asked, using her sweet motherly voice as she strolled into the kitchen.

She strapped me in my red high chair so I wouldn't fall... Again.

To my defense, I was still working out the kinks of my motor skills, which failed miserably. Luckily, mom used a weird supernatural speed spell. I never understood why couldn't she use magic like telekinesis. If she knew how to cast some kind of speed magic, then why not use telekinesis? That seems like an easy spell to use.

"Pumpkin Pete's Marshmellowy cereal!" The blond toddler happily exclaimed.

"Okay, but remember to not eat too much. We don't want to have cavities do we?" The adult wolf playfully wagged her finger, expressing her authority.

Summer grabbed a box of sugary cereal from the cabinet and handed it down to Yang. After grabbing my sister's food, mom went out of her way to get my breakfast. To my confusion, she didn't bring out my usual sustenance, an acquired taste that I had slowly developed. She brought out of a jar of... Something. A red bowl filled with yellow gloop was placed in front of me. I looked down confusedly at the bowl then back up to my mom.

"Guess who's a big girl now and gets to eat big kid food!" Summer coo'd.

I don't know what kind of stuff she had been eating, but this was not big kid food. Steak was a prime example of big kid food. This thing doesn't even deserve to be categorized as food. In fact, I don't even know what the hell this was.

I pouted and pushed the red plastic bowl filled with 'not real food' away from me. Summer frowned and pushed the bowl back to me, but that only made me push it away again. She slid it back to me and I giggled as we started a playful game of push the red bowl.

A frown still remained on the white cloaked woman's face, but immediately lightened up as an idea arise. She dashed to the drawers, picked up a plastic spoon, and scooped a spoonful of yellow gloop. She proceeded to slowly wave it around, while making dreadful noises that sounded like a dying goblin. I refused to open my mouth as soon as the spoon parked right outside my lips. Summer groaned in frustration and played her final trump card.

She scratched that one spot behind my small red tipped wolf ears.

Oooooh yeeaaaah, that felt great. My mouth propped open in pleasure. Not missing her chance, Summer shoved the spoon into my mouth, feeding me that wretched garbage.

Curse you animal instincts, I've been tricked.

I swallowed the yellow substance which didn't taste either too awful nor too good.

"See, that wasn't too bad right Ruby?" Summer chuckled and wiped that nonexistent sweat from her brows.

I continued to hungrily scarf down the meal, trying to enjoy that so called 'food'. It was like eating apple sauce, but worse. My breakfast came to an abrupt end as my spoon accidentally nudged the plastic bowl to its side, rolling it down from my table.

Damn it, foiled by my baby motor skills once again.

The bowl clattered against the tile floor, leaving a yellow spluttered mess. Wolf ears flattened on my head and I unconsciously gave my mom the saddest look.

"Don't worry my little pup. I'll get you a new one and clean that up." She ruffled my hair, turned around, and she did.

* * *

2 Year Old Ruby

 _Blood trickled down my skin as his knife slowly made its way down in a slow endless torture. The pain stopped, but then reappeared when the sharp edged weapon found a new spot to make its scars._

 _"Now isn't this fun? I call this... Art," grinned the cloaked torturer._

 _I tried to struggle free, but my arms and legs were shackled down on a ragged stone table. Screams of agony exited my mouth as I felt another sharp stab against my thighs._

 _"Ah Ah Ah." The cloaked torturer shook his head. "This is art, not choir. Art doesn't require...Singing." He dragged his knife down my thighs, creating his so called 'art'. More painful screams escaped from my mouth. Displeased with the sound, the mystery person stopped his drawing._

 _"Now, what did I say earlier?"_

 _As punishment, he plunged his weapon deeper into my lower thighs and twisted his knife. Squelching noises echoed within the musty chamber. But that didn't stop my screams. It was the exact opposite, it grew louder. Streams of tears flowed out from my eyes as I begged him to stop. It was no use. He was hysterically burying his knife at every spot his knife could find._

 _"Hah! The great Sword Angel pleading for mercy. What an ugly sight." He spat venomously. "That white hair brat would've been a better sacrifice. After all, he is the demon lord. I'm sure he would have done less...Screaming. Oh, but do you know who would have been an even better idea?" He smiled and left his torture tool imbedded into my stomach. He brought his face closer to my ear and whispered, "I think your mother would look lovely covered in her own bl-"_

 _Before he finished his sentence, I woke up screaming._

Tai and Summer busted into the room looking for an intruder, but glanced around only to see me wailing. More tears crawled down my face and made its way onto the bed. As a way of comfort, Summer picked me up and held me tight.

"Hey, shh... Shhh. It's okay. It's only a bad dream," she planted kisses around my face while one hand caressed my hair and the other rocked me in her loving arm. Sobs and more nonsense came out of my two year old mouth as I attempted to explain what happened.

"Only a nightmare my little rose. It won't get you, I promise. Me and your dad will always protect you."

"Mom? Dad?" Yang immediately sat up from her bed and rubbed her eyes. The girl's blond locks were strewn in a mess, some were even trapped in her mouth. "What's going on?"

"Ah, your little sister had a nightmare," Tai answered. The bigger man sat down onto Yang's twin size bed and hugged her.

"What?!" The four year old eyes widen with concern. Her overprotective sister switch had been flipped as she freed herself from Tai's lesser bear hugs. She rushed by my side and threw herself onto mom and I, giving us the biggest bear hug her little body can muster up.

"Are you okay, Ruby?" Yang asked tentatively. I nodded my head as I tried to settle down my cries.

Rules a great guild leader must follow: One, never show any weakness and endure everything. Two, leave no man or woman behind. Three, death must be an honorable battle. And four, my own personal rule, protect and help those around you whether they are strong or weak.

And I just broke the first rule.

Nightmares were terrifying unconscious thoughts plaguing around in the realm of sleep. They were intangible, they were fake. They were incomparable to all the murderers that I had fought who sadistically kill for their own enjoyment. But out of all the nightmares I had, why did the water dams break now?

Perhaps I changed.

No, it was most definite that I changed. The streets never played nice, so I had to grow up fast. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. I had to cast aside everything that was consider childish to survive the dog-eat-dog world. For the better or worse, living with such a doting family and experiencing the motherly love that I never once had, broke down my strong walls that I built during my childhood. I couldn't pull off the strong facade any longer as I gradually succumbed to my childlike desires.

I burrowed my face into Summer's neck with Yang hugging me from behind. Summer hummed a soothing song in response.

Maybe it's not bad to show weakness once in awhile.

* * *

3 Year Old Ruby

" 'aaaaaaannng," I drawled in my high pitch voice. "No fair! Can't do that!" Colorful blocks of lego collapsed, surrendering to that yellow mass of destruction.

"Rawr! I am Yangzilla!" She puffed her chest and made an adorable loud roar. Yang marched through the legos and massacred everything in her path. Small lego pieces scattered all over the polished wooden floor and under the couch.

Before I can strangle my sister with my tiny hands, a rap on the door reverberated in the house. Yang and I looked at each other. Mom and dad constantly reminded us to never open the door. They explained that jealous weird people will kidnap us because we were too cute, and they also wanted to be our parents. Of course, I never believed that silly reason, but I abided because I loved my family and wouldn't want to depart from them.

"Tai, can you get the door? My hands are kind of full here." Summer's voice echoed from the kitchen. Tai quickly climbed down the stairs, unlocked, and opened the door only to see his brother-in-law.

"Qrow? What are you doing here?" Tai questioned in bewilderment. He held the door for Qrow to walk in.

"Is it a crime to see my nieces?" Qrow sarcastically huffed as he accepted Tai's kind gesture. "Where are the little monsters anyways?"

Yang and I popped our heads right above the couch with wide smiles across our face. Uncle Qrow didn't visit often. When he did, it was like Christmas, but better, even though he didn't bear gifts.

"Uncle Qrow!" Yang and I shouted in unison.

We tumbled over the couch and raced towards him with each of us clinging onto his legs. I looked up meeting his gaze with my twinkling silver eyes.

"Did you miss us?" I asked quietly.

"Nope," he responded with a smile as he stretched the 'p' in his answer.

He trudged across the living room and into the kitchen with the two of us still holding onto his legs. Summer turned around and frowned at the sight, while holding onto a metallic tray of freshly baked cookies with her pattern colored oven mittens.

After setting the hot tray onto the table, she placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side."Girls, I'm pretty sure your uncle would like to feel his legs at some point," the mother wolf said as her ears sharply pointed straight up.

Taking her hint, we let go of our uncle's leg and sat on the kitchen chairs, eyeing those delicious sweet smelling treats.

"Relax Sum," Qrow chuckled. "They're not doing any harm." He grabbed a cookie from the tray and immediately popped it into his mouth. Unfortunately, the cookie got the better of him as it burned his tongue. Bits of cookies fell from his cursing mouth as he tried to pry off the small chunks from giving him a third degree burn. Yang and I giggled as we were quite amused with the sight.

"Did a grimm eat Qrow yet?" A masculine voice now joined the conversation. A blond man walked in hoping the answer would be a yes, but still sees a living and breathing Qrow.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny, Tai." Qrow muttered sarcastically as he sat down with his arms folded across his chest. He was cursing like a sailor under his breath about how the cookie wanted to kill him.

"Qrow. Language," Summer scolded. She flicked her furry ears in front of Qrow.

"Oh right... Sorry."

"What's a g'imm?" I eagerly asked trying to probe for more information. Grimm came up a lot during the adult's conversations but I could never asked as I was barely relearning how to physically talk.

"Scary monsters that will eat you without mercy," Uncle Qrow answered in a low husky voice as he scratched the air with his hands, pretending he had claws while snapping his mouth like a turtle.

Well... That wasn't exactly helpful, but it was something.

"Qrow!" The cookie baker furrowed her eyebrows graced with a frown.

"What? It's true." The reaper deadpanned and turned his attention towards me. "But dont worry kiddo. Let the grown up handle it. You've seen my bad ass weapon and our semblances."

"Again Qrow. Language"

"Right... Sorry."

Uncle Qrow did have a gigantic badass wielding scythe that would work great as a guillotine. I internally drooled as I pictured myself swinging an obnoxiously large scythe, snipping The Creator's head off. Quickly, I snapped back from my gory fantasy as I remembered Uncle Qrow mentioning a word that I never heard of before.

"What's a s'mbal'n?" I fumbled on the word 'semblance' as I bit my tongue in the process to sound out the bigger vocabulary. I internally cursed to myself hoping my tongue wasn't bleeding.

"It makes you go pow! Slice! Stab!" Yang vaguely but enthusiastically explained as she motioned a bunch of karate moves with her hands and arms.

Tai chuckled at the sight of his flailing daughter attempting to mimic his martial art moves. "Well honey. A semblance is a special power that is unique to everyone. You can only have one. For example, your mom's semblance is speed." He points his thumb to his chest proudly. "My semblance is more power. And Qrow's..." He now casted his attention to Qrow who raised an eyebrow back at him. "Well, you can ask him yourself."

Yang and I turned our attention to our uncle hoping to get an answer, but he only shrug and said 'rainbows and candies' with a weak smile. Everyone with a past had their own secret. It wasn't my place to probe Uncle Qrow for answers or to judge him for hiding them.

Then occurred to me.

A semblance? Was there no such thing as magic in this world? Is that why mom always used her speed semblance and never anything else? And how about the grimms? Were they the only creatures that terrorized people? Are there no such thing as dragons, demons, or any other mythical creatures that roamed in my world?

"The cookies are cooled and ready to eat now. Come on girls, dig in!" Summer said, snapping me back from my series of questions. She poured two tall glasses of cold milk, one for me and the other for Yang.

I wasn't exactly a person with a sweet tooth. But after living here for so long, my diet had extremely changed. No more eating wild monster meat and no more eating wild vegetables. My diet was mainly whatever my mom cooks, and cookies and milk.

"Yaaay!" Yang and I cheered in unison. Yang, being the older sister, threw herself onto the table and seized a couple of cookies. She then passed me one because I was too short to reach.

She was a great sister.

I dipped my cookie into the milk and happily munched on it.

* * *

4 Year Old And 3 Months Ruby

Green leaves began turning into different shades of color, indicating the start of autumn. Mom planned a family picnic out in the forest for a nice change in scenery. However, Yang had to stay back home as she suddenly caught a horrendous fever. Her body was burning up abnormally compared to most typical fever that children experienced. Doctors couldn't figure out why, so dad stayed back to take care of her. He told mom and I to go have a picnic without them since we were already prepared.

Mom and I strolled into the forest with her hand in mine and the other on the basket. From the bits and pieces I picked up, Patch was fairly safe from grimm. It wasn't entirely safe as there were a few that dwelled in specific parts of the forest, but grimm normally kept to themselves. Even if they did accidentally strolled into town, it wouldn't be a big deal considering I have two grimm hunter extraordinaire as parents.

"I think here would be a nice spot don't you think?" Summer smiled at me.

"Mmm," I nodded in agreement. I caught on to language pretty quickly. Even though a handful of my vocabulary were choppy, it surprised both of my parents. Mom stuck her nose high in the air and said I got it from her, while dad said the opposite. I only can shrug and watch them both playfully bicker. They were both wrong because I learned it from myself.

Mom gently placed the basket onto the tall green grass right next to a tree. Birds were humming in the air, bees buzzed around wild flowers, and leaves whispered as the wind blew by. We sat down on the patch of grass, admiring the scenery happening before us.

Suddenly, a monstrous growl disrupted the peaceful silence.

Summer giggled to the hideous sound that escaped from my stomach. She opened the picnic basket and handed me a sandwich to saturate my hunger. I happily stuffed the sandwich into my mouth, not caring of what it was.

Even from my world, I wasn't a picky eater to begin with. When I was living on the streets, I get what I can get. If food was sort of identifiable, then it should seem safe to eat. After all, beggars can't be choosers.

The mother wolf smiled at me, brushing the crumbs off my face.

If there was something I never picked up on, it was most likely proper eating etiquette. Other than a fork and a knife, everything else was alien to me. I never tried putting any effort to bother learning because it wasn't technically necessary.

Besides, when will I ever use it?

I wasn't trying to impress any of my guild members. Dinner meetings with neighboring guild leaders were pointless to me. They said it was beneficial because it could help strengthen relationships. But I called that suicide. Food could be tampered with, ambushes could be sneakily planned, it was a like back stab waiting to happen.

"Mom?" I asked with food in my mouth. Crumbs flew out from my lack of manners.

"Yes my little rose?" She wiped more crumbs off my mouth.

"When can I get my semblance?

She paused to think of an appropriate answer. "Whenever you're ready, sweetie." She brushed my hair with her hand and kissed my red tipped ears.

"But mooom," I drawled. "What if I am ready." My little ears drooped back, giving her the most adorable puppy look. What was considered ready to get my semblance in this world? Was my previous life not deemed as enough?

"If you think you're ready..." Summer drifted off. "Then you should be able to stop this attack!" Mom launched a ferocious assault using her bare hands. Ten fingers rained down from above, wiggling in a merciless manner.

She tickled me on my stomach, causing an endless suffering of laughter.

"MOOM," I laughed, trying to wiggle my way out. "Stooop!"

She released me from her barrage of tickles and ruffled my hair. To think that the great Sword Angel would raise a white flag from tickle attacks. That would be a blow to my reputation.

"Okay, my little pup. Let mom pack everything up and we then can head back home." The corner of her lips pointed upwards, giving me the biggest smile ever.

And that smile was worth more than my thousand weapons.

* * *

4 Year Old And 9 Month ruby

It was suppose to be a short mission.

Rain drops tapped against the glass window smothering it with moisture and condensation, preventing me from seeing through. I sighed and leaned my head against window, pressing my small cheeks against the frosty glass looking like a love sicken puppy.

I missed mom.

Her mission was suppose to end last week, but she still never came home. I constantly bugged dad of her whereabouts, but he always gave me a weary smile, reassuring me that she'll be home soon.

Shivers ran through my body from the cold weather. Tugging tightly on my new red cloak, I wrapped it around my body absorbing as much warmth as I could. Mom sewed me a similar cloak to hers to remind me of her presence whenever she left the house for her assigned missions. Of course, mine was red and the new fabric gave a soft glow compared to her overly worn white cloak.

But it didn't matter, because I missed mom.

The next day, we were visited by strange people. They were wearing tacky uniforms and shiny badges. Dad ordered me and Yang to play upstairs so the adults could talk. Thanks to my so called faunus traits that my mom gave a brief lesson on, my hearing abilities were enhanced.

To put it in simple terms, I was great at eavesdropping.

"I'm terribly sorry sir. We searched the perimeter of that location and we couldn't find anything. No weapon, no blood, nothing. We might have to end our investigation as there are no clues." A male voice said.

"What? No.. nonono. You guys can't stop looking. She's a huntress! Graduated from the top of her class! Someone worth spending years to look for!" My ears twitched to a desperate voice whom I recognized as my dad.

"Sir, the best we can do is label her as M.I.A. Our deepest apology for your loss sir." A now feminine voice replied back to my dad's response.

Sound of footsteps became faint as the two officers left the premise of our home. I overheard a thud on the floor and the sounds of weeping. That only meant one thing.

Mom was dead.


	3. Hello, Problems

4 Years Old Ruby. A Few Weeks After Summer's Death.

Don't let them see, they can never know. I repetitively told myself like a mantra to hold back my tears as I lied awake in the middle of the night. Faint sounds of rain drops filled the silent night.

They just told me that you were gone, but I already knew.

Don't let them see, they can never know.

They don't expect a four year old to understand, especially how young I was.

Don't let them see, they can never know.

They told each other that I would barely have any recollection of you as I grow older.

Don't let them see, they can never know.

Summer deeply engraved herself into my memory and into my heart. How can I forget such a loving mother? But I played along for the sake of my family. To ease their worries, I played innocent like how normal kid supposed to grow up into.

Don't let them see, they can never know.

Boy, I wanted to prove to them how extremely wrong they were.

Don't let them see, they can never know.

Rule number one: show no weakness, endure everything.

Hold your tears and don't let them see. Be a soul forever haunted, they can't know.

* * *

7 Year Old Ruby

After the death of our mom, dad was a mess for years. Our uncle stepped in to take care of us while balancing his job at Signal Academy.

Two years ago, Uncle Qrow got me an adorable welsh corgi puppy and said dad got it for me. But I knew better. Dad wasn't in any state to add another hyper active member to the family. Uncle Qrow got him for me as a replacement of mom.

After our dad shut down, Yang took over the motherly role. From the look of her lilac eyes, she also knew the entire truth. To make up for it, she did most of the house chores while trying to balance school and her trainings.

To me, Yang was the best sister I could ever ask for.

The corners of my lip pointed upwards as my gaze landed on a snoring Yang who was still sleeping. Her hair was like spaghetti, clustered and messy as it draped all over her bed. Turning my head to the clock, I checked the time. 9:53 A.M. I threw my blanket covers off my body and proceeded to my hygienic morning activities.

Today was a special day, the day Uncle Qrow finally unlocks my aura. Throughout history, aura was known to be integrated into one's soul from the beginning. In other words, people were naturally born with aura and unlocked intuitively as time moved on. But my current comprehension was slightly different compared Remnant's case. From what Uncle Qrow told me, in order to acquire an aura, the person must undergo formalities for it to be released.

And that's when it occurred to me.

If the mechanics of aura were exactly similar for both worlds and the only difference was how to acquire it, then perhaps they were one in the same. If Uncle Qrow were to unseal my aura, then there was a good chance that I could gain back my ample supply of aura.

My lips pointed upwards into a smirk as I imagined myself kicking my uncle's ass. The last thing he would expect is a 7 year old overflowing with aura and beating his mangy butt. After brushing my teeth, I threw on my signature red cloak. The last gift of my mother, something I couldn't let go. I spun in front of the mirror, taking final glances before I made my way down the stairs.

On my way down the stairs, I caught Uncle Qrow secretly trying to take a swig from his alcohol canister. My eyebrows furrowed and I placed my hands on my hips.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat, catching his attention. The alcoholic gave me a surprised look as if I caught his hand in my jar of stashed cookies. He glanced back at his canister, and then back up.

"Oh, sorry kiddo. Didn't see you there." He nervously laughed.

Despite his many attempts, Uncle Qrow tried to avoid indulging on alcohol whenever Yang and I were present. Pretty much a difficult goal he set himself up seeing how he drank for a few years.

Lightening up my face, I gave him an enthusiastic smile and excitedly dragged him outside.

"Come on Uncle Qrow! You promise to train me!"

"Hold on Ruby," he chuckled. "You can't forget that I need to unlock your aura first."

Internally, I jumped up and down cheering at the top of my lungs. This was the moment I was waiting for. I closed my eyes and gave permission for my uncle to begin. The scythe wielder held my hands, and closed his eyes as he began chanting verses that I didn't bother to listen because I was too exhilarated and giddy.

"There that should do it," he finished.

With my eyes still closed, I concentrated on the aura flowing through my body. The warmth of my aura coiled around my body, expelling a red color. The hair on my skin stood up as the aura kissed my skin. But something wasn't right.

No.

This was definitely not right.

The smile on my face immediately dropped. That's it? That's all my aura? What happened to my bountiful of aura that I was gifted? For fuck sake, did I lose all of it? The current aura that surged through my body could barely take a punch.

Oh shit, I'm screwed.

"Ahem," Uncle Qrow was the one clearing his throat now. "You have a pretty decent amount of aura you got there kiddo."

Bullshit.

"Let's start with training," he smiled, and I shot a feign smile right back at him.

Uncle Qrow and I worked on the basics of fighting. Stances, breathing, stretching, what to do and what not to do, and all the other things I already knew. He was surprised and complimented on how well I was doing for a beginner. But what surprised him the most was when I asked him to spar with me.

Yep, I asked him for a spar.

At first, he bluntly said no because it was too dangerous and I could get badly injured. But after using my special technique, jutting my bottom lip and giving him the most adorable puppy look, he pinched the bridge of his nose and caved in.

"Okay Ruby, I'm going to hold back as much as I can." He sighed, standing straight up with his hands shoved into his pockets. "I'm ready whenever you are."

I positioned myself with my feet gripped onto the ground and dashed towards Uncle Qrow, who was totally zoning out from the match. With my current body condition, it couldn't really be considered a dash... It was more like a slow run. A very slow run.

With my hand clenched, I threw a punch that was concentrated with aura at him. Or at least, it was suppose to be an aura condensed blow. I frowned at the sound of a light tapping noise when my fist connected to his well developed stomach.

Well, that failed miserably.

Uncle Qrow quickly retaliated as he concentrated his superior strength onto his hand. His attack inched closer to my head, delivering his ultimate final blow filled with pain and destruction.

He flicked my forehead.

"Ack- OW! Uncle Qrow! That hurts a lot!" I hissed in pain, clutching to the side of my forehead. The pain stung my skin and started to throb. "I think you ripped my skin! Oh gosh, I think I'm bleeding! I'm gonna die from bleeding!"

I dramatically fell down and pretended to be dying. Still clutching the side of my forehead, I held my hand out, reaching to the bright blue sky. "I'm gonna miss you my tasty awesome cookies."

The 'murderer' rolled his eyes smiling at the antics that I was ensuing.

"Come on kiddo, let's go make some lunch." He turned around and walked ahead, leaving me behind to rot on the grass.

"Coming!" I giggled and quickly got up, brushing the stray grass attached to my clothes with a smile hanging on my face.

I saw it. No doubt about it, I definitely saw it. He aimed at center of my forehead and I almost dodged it. I rubbed the side of my forehead and skipped along, trying to catch up to my uncle.

Skills beat strength.

At least I didn't lose everything.

* * *

8 Year Old Ruby

Dad came back to his senses and profusely apologized to me and Yang about his behavior. He said he didn't act like the fatherly figure like he supposed to and planned to make up for it. In the end, we spent more quality time with each other more than ever, building back our relationship.

I forgave dad because I knew what it was like to lose someone. Not just mom, but also a few of my other members of my guild. They gave up their lives to slay monsters, to complete mission assignments, and to fight wars. Even I fell into despair once, only to recover after a period of time.

But I think Yang had a harder time accepting his apology. But who can blame her? She was left behind by someone with the name of Raven, her birth mother, while dad failed to play his part and only bounced back now.

* * *

9 Year Old Ruby

"Yaaaaaaaaang, spar with me pleeaaassee."

"I can't, Ruby. I'm trying to make my weapon for school."

"But training is important too!"

"Yeah, but I'm also required to make my weapon."

I frowned at her answer.

"You're missing a screw right there," I pointed out.

"What? No I'm no- Oh, I see it." Treating her weapon delicately, Yang added and secured the screw in. Even though my previous ability allowed me to 'absorb' dead enemy's weapons, I still knew the mechanics behind each weapon.

"Can we spar pleeeeeasseee?" I drawled and gave her the most adorable puppy look.

"Ugh, fine. One spar. Just ONE spar." Yang rolled her eyes and submitted under my infamous puppy eyes.

"YAAAY!" I cheered, throwing my hands in the air like the little kid I am.

We stepped outside with the sun's beating heat softly kissing our skin. My short deeply red hair fluttered against the spring breeze. Red strands of fur stood up from my wolfish ears, embracing the wind. I deeply inhaled the fresh scent of mother nature.

The smell of roses.

I smiled as I quickly glanced at my small patch of roses that I started as a small hobby. Small red buds were beginning to bloom, bringing life and color at the side of our home. Not only did it rid the dull surroundings, but it was relaxing and represented my name very well.

"Earth to Ruby!" Yang waved her hand, trying to catch my attention.

"Huh? Oh, my bad." I gave an apologetic smile.

"Hand to hand combat and I won't use my semblance since you haven't gotten yours," she pointed.

"I know! Same as always," I giggled.

"So what's the score again? 78 to like 0?" She joked.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. You wish. 78 to 64. You're winning only by like... 14."

To be fair, Yang did have an advantage over me despite my decades of past battle experiences. She had been practicing in close combat for her entire life, copying all of dad's tactical moves. Meanwhile, I was still training under Uncle Qrow to further develop my speed and strength that I didn't have any more.

Why with Uncle Qrow?

Because I wanted to use a scythe. I wanted to try something new for once, and who was the best to learn it from other than the scythe master himself?

"You ready?" Yang called out.

"Yep!"

"Lil' sis can get the first strike"

"Thanks Yang!" I smiled, positioning myself lower to the ground.

With a deep breath I bolted directly at her, attempting a more head on approach. I swung my fist straight at her face, but she ducked and countered with an uppercut into my stomach. My aura took most of the blow as her knuckles drove into my stomach.

I clenched my teeth from the pain and smirked in response.

My feet firmly grasped the grass as I expected her counterattack. Yang's eyes widen when she noticed I was barely pushed back and tried to back step away. However, it was too late for her. Both of my hands snatched her shoulders and I drove a knee right into stomach, knocking the winds out of her. The young brawler fumbled onto the floor as she tried catching her breath.

"78 to 65!" I threw a victory pump, but wasn't the greatest idea as I felt the bruise forming on my stomach. Yang really did a good job ramming her fist right there.

"Wow, Ruby. That was amazing, I totally did not see that coming," she panted. "Though I think you need a little more 'ummph' in your kick."

"Oh, you know me and my crazy ideas." I grinned widely, rubbing my stomach to ease the pain.

When it came to brawling with Yang, she normally went for the head on brutal beating. In other words, her movements were slightly predictable.

"Soooooooo... One more spar?" I beamed.

"Nope. I said one and I mean it"

"But Yaaaaanngg!"

"No is no Ruby"

I dog piled on Yang who still laid on the grass. "GAH RUBY!" My sister shrieked as I landed on her stomach where I previously kneed her.

"Oops sorry Yang," I laughed. The young brawler retaliated back as she wrestled me onto the floor, putting me into a headlock.

"Ack- wait- Yan- Sto-" I tried but the headlock tightened, cutting off my every word. Feeling agitated, I used my outer arm to pull her head back to escape her headlock.

Now, it wasn't a challenge to get out of a headlock. My teammates did it to me all the time because I was shorter than them. They thought it would be funny to put the leader in a headlock until I started beating their asses senselessly.

But this time. I fucked up.

Rather than grabbing the flesh of her face, I clutched her hair and yanked a few strands of her golden locks.

Oh boy.

Number one rule, never cut Yang's hair or remove any strands off her head. She treated her long luscious blond hair as her most prized possession. Everyone knew that, and I just broke that rule just now.

I ripped off a few strands of her hair.

Not one.

A few...

The blonde instinctively released my neck once she felt a recognizable pain on top of her head. She looked down at my hands only to see what use to be attached to her.

"Ruby."

Oh fuck me.

"Oh. Uhh, I- Ah. Um, er. Well you see... Umm." I stammered. Beads of cold sweat rolled down my forehead.

I was doomed.

"Ruby."

Shivers descended down my spine when I heard my name from her lips.

"Yes, Yang...?" I nervously looked down, shuffling my feet against the grass.

"You have five seconds. One."

"Oh, but Yan-"

"Two."

"O-Okay." I held my hands up defensively and took a few steps back.

"Three."

Now this was a good time to run.

"Four."

And I did.

"Five."

Running off as far as my feet will carry me, I turned my head around only to accidentally lock onto my sister's gaze. Lilac eyes turned red and met silver as she made a notable loud battle cry. Yang activated her semblance and engulfed her whole body with flames, shooting off waves of heat and causing a sudden rise in temperature through the atmosphere

For the first time in years, I trembled in fear. Fear that I will die from ripping a few of my sister's hair strands.

"Some honorable death," I muttered out loud, still running with my tail tucked into between my legs.

Soft grunts grew louder when my blazing sister chased after me. She was catching up to me fast, really fast.

"Wait! Yaaang, please stop. It was an accident, I swear! You wouldn't kill your sweet adorable little sister would you?" I begged with pants in between my sentence. She responded with an angry war cry and continued to pursue after me.

I picked up my pace to escape from her clutches, but before I knew it, I teleported right into a tree, smashing my face against the wooded bark.

Yang halted to a stop with her eyes turning back to her normal shade of color.

"Ruby...?" She whispered with concern in her voice. "Oh dust, are you okay?"

I slumped down the tree and fell back onto the ground with a loud crash. To respond to her question, I uttered a indescribable noise to let her know I was somehow still alive and breathing. My sister plopped down next to me and gently brushed my face with the back of her hand to dust the leftover bark off my face.

"What happened?" I moaned in pain. "Everything hurts."

"Weeell," she stretched out. "I think you just discover your semblance little sis."

"What?!" I enthusiastically sat up, ignoring the pain all over my beaten body. "Are you saying I can teleport?"

"Whoa! Easy there pup. You should rest for a bit at least. Here let me help you." She positioned me in a way I could rest my head on her lap. "So, um... No. You didn't teleport. You kind of... Ran super fast? Like, uh... Turned into a swarm of rose petals and flew quickly through the wind?"

"What?"

Yang pointed out to the trail of rose petals that I supposedly left behind. The sweet scent of roses filled the air as the breeze carried the flower petals away, letting it drift through the wind. I pleasantly hummed as I acknowledged my newfound powers.

"You know Yang, you're the best sister I could ever have, " I giggled.

"What do you mean? I'm the only sister you have!"

"You sacrificed your beloved hair for the greater good." My giggles turned into laughter. "A few strands of hair for my semblance? That's such a good trade!"

"Never again." The brawler lightly punched me.

"Ack- Yaaaaang. I'm still hurting all over. I think I might need a band aid," I whimpered. "Maybe not a band aid, but a bunch of bandages."

"Come on sis, let's get you cleaned up. I can wrap you like a mummy for your boo boos. Then put you in a coffin since you already dug your own grave earlier."

I snickered at her comment and happily got up.

I finally got my semblance. It was not magic, but this was definitely perfect.

* * *

10 Year Old Ruby

Patch.

A relatively secluded big island surrounded by a body of water. If we wanted to get to the main lands, we needed to take a ferry or take some kind of aerial transportation. And that's exactly what we were doing. We were at the landing station for airborne vehicles in Patch because dad wanted to take us to Vale for the first time.

"Whoooaa, what's that dad?" I gasped, relinquishing my dad's hand and pointed at a funny looking aircraft.

Remnant had an interesting way of aerial transport. My world never had flying chunks of metal for traveling. No, we rode monsters instead. Whether it is a dragon, wyvern, griffon, phoenix, or anything with wings or legs, if you can domesticate it, then you can ride it. But this thing? This was new to me.

"That's a bullhead, Ruby. It's going to take us to the city of Vale," dad grinned.

Riding that thing didn't seem... Safe. Monsters were sturdier compared to these dainty looking vehicles. I'm pretty sure my dragon back at home could snap that like a toothpick.

No, it definitely can.

"But daaad," I drawled out. "Are you sure it's safe? What if it explodes?"

Dad laughed at my exaggerated question.

Yang was the last to let go of his hand as she chased after me. "Come on Ruby! Less talking and more walking!" My sister grabbed my red cloak and tugged me onto the vehicular deathtrap.

"GAH," I yelped in dismay. "Yang, I think you're choking me. Dad! Help me! Yang is trying to kill me!"

"Yang."

"Okay dad!"

We boarded the aircraft after the conductor hollered for last call. During the entire flight, it felt like we were barely moving. Didn't need to worry about messed up hair, a sore ass, or even unpredictable weather. It was definitely different from riding monsters. Quite pleasant in my opinion.

Vale.

An absolutely beautiful city, bustling with crowds of people going about their daily business. Buildings towered over the city streets, shopping centers catered to the public needs, and mouth watering scent of baked goods enveloped the air.

It felt like home. The home I built from ground up, the home where my guild laid and protected, and the same home I governed.

"Dad, where are we going?" I asked, trying to sound unflustered. My teeth was slightly clattering, and so was Yang.

We were window shopping around Vale and made a pit stop at a nearby ice cream shop, bakery shop, and candy shop. Dad made a grave mistake as he bought Yang and I every delectable sweet that we pleaded him for. The next thing we know, we were giddy and bouncing off walls from the absurd amount of sugar we consumed. It was worse enough that we were lively children to begin with.

"We're going to the park because I can't seem to keep you guys still for a second," he chuckled. His eyes seemed a bit lifeless from our afternoon antics.

"Ruby! I'll race you to the park!" Yang challenged. Her eyes was slightly dilated and her body was uncontrollably shaking from the sugar.

"Fu-" I caught myself first before I let out an inappropriate profanity. Dad and Yang didn't know about my habit of excessive cursing. For the greater good, it was better if they didn't know about it.

"For sure sis," I corrected myself. "If you beat me, I'll..." I thought for a moment to see what was a good incentive. "I'll stop eating cookies for a month."

"Get ready to eat my dust because you won't be having cookies for a month!"

"Wait girls," dad interjected, but we weren't listening to him. "Gi-"

Before my dad could finish his sentence, my sister and I abandoned him. We raced down the sidewalk, dodging pedestrians as we made our way to the park.

With a few years of training, I ran pretty quick for my age even without my semblance. Yang couldn't even compete against me when it came to sprints. So why did she challenge me if she didn't stand chance? It was probably the sugar getting to her head.

"Yang, give up! You can't beat me!" I panted as I darted over a trashcan that stood in my way.

"Hah! In my dreams I did. And now it's going to come true!" She heavily wheezed.

I looked over my shoulder and noticed that Yang was getting slower and slower by the minute as her stamina drained rather quickly. I smiled as I overtook her by a long shot, but my adrenaline came to a halt when I suddenly collided with a stranger.

"Hey! Watch where you're going," the man hissed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry sir. I'm very sorry!" I apologized many times to the man that I basically almost trampled. He was wearing a funny looking mask that covered half of his face. What I noticed was his smell. It was different compared to Yang's, Dad's, and even Uncle Qrow's. He smelled like... A faunus.

"Tch- Little runts like you need discipline," the stranger snarled. He bent down and examined me further with his eyes that I couldn't see because of his poorly designed mask. "Huh, you're a faunus."

"Yup!" I wagged my tail to let him see. I wasn't afraid to show off my faunus traits. I wore it like pride. Yang caught up behind me, bent over trying to catch her breath. She looked up and was startled with what she saw.

"Ruby..." she whispered into my ears with worry. "We shouldn't talk to strangers. Especially this one. He's wearing shady mask." My sugar high died down, allowing the information sink in. And that's when sudden realization hit me.

Holy shit, she was right.

"Hey kid, how would you like to join the White Fang?" he smirked. "Of course it's faunus only. So your little friend here can't join unless she happens to be a faunus."

White Fang? Sounds like a cult to me.

"No thanks, this friend here is my sister. I'm not going anywhere without her," I responded with a touch of attitude in it. I glanced around and observed a few of his masked buddies joining him. I slightly nudged Yang to slowly back away.

"Sorry kid, we don't take no for an answer. We could use a little... help with our new revolution."

"Yang, run." I whispered to her.

"Ruby no I'm not leaving you," she retorted.

"Yang, you need to get dad."

"No, I already said I -"

"Trust me. I can hold them off for a few seconds and catch up with my semblance. Now go."

Yang hesitated because our roles now reversed. It was unusual for her to see me overly protective as I always pretended to play damsel in distress in her eyes. Truth be told, I enjoyed having my sister coddle me. But this situation was completely different.

Silver met lavender

We held onto each other's gaze as she slowly turned around. My sister nodded and began sprinting back to wherever my dad was at. The White Fang grunts didn't bother to chase after her as their treasured soon-to-be member stood idly in front of them.

There was a good chance that Yang and I could win if we stood our grounds, but that good chance was still too small for me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to Yang. I guess some could say it fell under rule number four, protect those around you whether they are strong or weak

"So, which one of you fucker's ass am I going kick first?" I sneered with my personality flipping a complete 180. They were taken aback as they were witnessing a 10 year old curse like a professional.

They were looking at each other in bewilderment with my new change in attitude. However, one lackey with small antlers out of his head gritted his teeth and charged forward with a loud grunt as he took my taunt. I smirked at his short temper. Okay Ruby, you only need to stall.

Hit and run, I can live with that.

The White Fang goon swung his fist straight at me. I maneuvered his jab with my forearm to avoid his clenched hand from making contact with my face. With my right hand, I slugged his reproductive organ delivering traumatizing divine punishment.

Now run.

Using my semblance, I retreated in the direction that Yang ran off to. Even though I had my semblance for quite some time, it was still a bit unstable as I wasn't accustom to it. It was a whole another scale compared to magic.

The poor faunus, who was holding his lower private region in fetal position, muttered orders to the rest of his goons that was too far for me to hear.

Before I could make my great escape, a bigger and bulkier faunus ambushed me. He wore the same mask like the other ruffians and bided his time in the low lit alley. I couldn't avoid his sneaky assault as the efficiency of my senses were cut short from using my semblance.

Oh shit.

The bigger faunus caught me by surprise as he snatched my cloak, choking me in the process. I fumbled and crashed down onto the floor, unable to escape from his grasp. With his other hand, he gripped the collar of my shirt and dragged me to their designated rendezvous, far away from prying eyes.

"Tch- Let go so I can beat the shit out of you!" I flailed at the bigger faunus, doing absolutely no damage. Two years of training with Uncle Qrow wasn't enough to build back my desired strength. Compared to Yang's, my punches didn't pack enough power.

"Well, look who's here!" A familiar looking faunus broke from the clusters of what seemed to be members of the White Fang. The same faunus that I almost castrated. "Not so tough now, are you?"

The bigger faunus dropped me onto the floor in front of the faunus with the small antlers. The faunus superior was looking down at me with smugness plastered on his face. With his hands, he gripped my hair, pulled my head back, and examined me as if I was a damaged good.

"The White Fang can use spiteful little bastards such as yourself," he said with a shit eating grin.

I spat at his face as an answer.

He wiped the liquid off his face mask and returned a deathly glare from what I can make out. With a loud grunt, he angrily brought his clenched fist at my face to enact his revenge. I stumbled back and landed onto the ground with my aura now depleted from his physical rage. The bulkier faunus yanked my arm and dragged me up onto my knees.

Blood trickled down from my 10 year old mouth awarding me a taste of my own red fluid. The taste of iron. I spat the blood onto the floor and looked up with hostility in my eyes.

"And here's another for good luck. See you in the morning brat," the faunus smirked. "Welcome to the White Fang."

He threw a kick across my face and knocked me out onto the floor as my ticket of admission.


	4. Faded Memories

**I want to say thank you everyone's support. This is my first fan fiction ever and it means a lot to see people enjoying the story. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

 _Hell._

 _It was a hot place filled with molten lava randomly spewing everywhere. People didn't normally travel to Hell because they had to go through Hellsgate to get across the spatial dimension that separated the world from it. Traveling wasn't the main problem to get to Hell, it was the guardian defending the gate that made it difficult._

 _"You lucky bastard," the red long hair demon sprawled on the floor bleeding heavily. "Just wait until the Demon Lord hears about this. He will massacre you and your family!"_

 _"It's not luck. A kid surpassing the guardian of Hellsgate isn't dumb luck. It's called being a genius." Light particles floated away in the air as my Durandal disintegrated. "My family is probably dead already so he's more than welcome to come after me but I don't recommend it. He'll be a waste of my time."_

 _I left a threatening message in hopes that I discouraged the Demon Lord from coming after my life. A kid trying to kill the leader that ruled hell? Ridiculous, I wasn't ready to fight him._

 _With my back facing towards the him, I raised a reversed gesture of farewell. There wasn't a need to kill him. His weapon wasn't spectacular. Secondly, I didn't want to encourage the ruler of Hell to come after me for revenge. And lastly, killing the guardian would just be an incentive for intruders to invade Hell. I didn't need any more power hungry guilds conquering more land than necessary._

 _I journeyed down deeper into Hell to look for what I needed. I wasn't here for the Demon Lord's head or for his land._

 _No, I was looking for someone._

 _I marched through the dry wasteland towards one of the many prisoner towers. Rumors had it that the Demon Lord chained someone and confined him in one of his personal guardhouses defended by top level sentries. If my calculations are correct, it should be right... here._

 _I looked up from the map I stole from one of the demon residents._

 _My gaze settled on a recently destroyed prison tower. Small singes marked the ruined bricks as white smoke steamed from it. From a short distance, a young teenager was sitting on one of the stone rocks looking dazed._

 _"Did my father stoop that low to send a little runt after my life?" the teenager said in a monotone voice._

 _I took a hard look at the teenager. He had small black horns appearing out of his white short hair. His face was expressionless as he stared off into the distance rather than meeting my eyes._

 _"Father? No, I'm looking for someone that was supposed to be in that prison tower." I pointed at the razed building._

 _"Tough luck, the person you were looking for is probably dead."_

 _I furrowed my eyebrows at him. Dead?_

 _"I incinerated the whole building," he answered, reading my facial expression._

 _"Soo..." I trailed off. "Why did a demon such as yourself incinerated his own species property? Isn't that like treason or something?"_

 _"Already committed treason a long time ago. It's not a hard choice to make when most of my life was spent mistreated and brutalized by the Demon Lord just because I was too 'incompetent' to be his son," he scoffed._

 _I hummed to his resentful ramblings. The Demon Lord's son huh._

 _"Then maybe you're the person I'm looking for," I bent down in front of him to meet his gaze with my hands folded behind my back._

 _Brown met his red eyes_

 _"Hardly," he mocked. He turned his head to avoid my eyes. "What do you want from me?"_

 _"Your allegiance."_

 _"No." He quickly shot out._

 _"Awww why not?" I drawled in a playful manner._

 _"I don't need you to shackle me down if I plan to kill my own father," he revealed his future ulterior motive._

 _I hummed again._

 _"Then how about a battle? If I win, you swear your allegiance to me and I'll help you become the next Demon Lord. If I lose then you can gloat about how you killed the Sword Angel." I smiled at the exiled prince._

 _"Sword Angel you say? Sure, sounds like an easy challenge," he flicked his wrist and a sudden burning fire molded into chaos blades. **[AN]**_

Loud rustlings and rowdy voices woke me up from my unconsciousness as I forced my eyes to open. Confused with the situation in hand, I blinked a couples of times in attempt to distinguish the blur blobs that were moving around in my peripheral vision. I tried to rub my eyes, but felt a constricting force restricted me from doing so. A few moments later, my sight returned back into its original state as I noticed the blobs were actually masked workers.

That's right... I was kidnapped and forced to join some cult.

A suffocating pain wrapped firmly around the skin of my wrists and my ankles. Due to how tightly I was restrained, pools of sweat formed in the gap between my skin and whatever was binding me. With my hands tied behind my back, I attempted to tug my hands free but failed as they were solidly secured together. Cords of ropes wrapped snugly on my ankles and kept me from making an escape. I looked around my surroundings for something sharp to break out from the confining strands, but there was absolutely nothing to use.

Great, I'm a damsel in distress.

A man with a different designed mask strode towards my direction once aware that I was awake. Red coloring neatly outlined near the eyes of his mask, indicating that he must be some higher rank.

"So little red riding hood is finally awake," the man stated as he crossed his arms. He was wearing a white uniform with an emblem of a red wolf head with three jagged slashes across its face.

"Nope, I'm still sleeping. Please leave a message after the tone. Beeeep," I lied. The man didn't seemed amused at my antics. Then again, I couldn't read his expression since his mask covered his entire face.

"So Rangifer **[AN]** was right. You are a spiteful little bastard," the man crouched down to my level and lifted my chin with his hand. A jolt of pain spread across my cheeks as he examined my face further from the previous fight.

"Hands off," I jerked my face back growling at him.

"Hmph, if you're going to be part of the White Fang then we're going to need to fix that shitty behavior of yours."

"I never wanted to be part of your cult in the first place."

"We're an organization starting a new revolution. A kid like you wouldn't understand," the faunus man narrowed his eyes.

"I bet I know more about a new revolution than you ever will," I muttered in disagreement. He could never understand the drastic changes I made back in my world. A handful of large guilds harbored cities that were unlawful and made no effort for changes. Rape, human trafficking, official misconduct, you name it. Thus, I took it in my hands to rid them from the world.

"Good, cause we could use some nasty young fresh bloods around here."

"Like I said, I never wanted to be part of your cult," I curled my lips and snarled at him venomously. "You think you're so tough? Tied me down so I can't physically rip that unsightly mask off your face." More jeers escaped my mouth as I continued to add more fuel to my fire. "You White Fangs are feeble. You are weak. No wonder the humans want to wipe you off the face of the planet. You guys are just a bunch of sore eyes."

"Tch - You little bitch. Attitude won't change will it? Looks like we need to discipline you if we want to go anywhere with this. Put her on the chair!" The superior faunus lost his calm demeanor and snapped at his faunus foot workers. Two workers hauled me onto my knees and dragged me to a chair.

"Your initiation starts now kid," he said harshly. He unsheathed a dagger from his belt and approached closer with his razor sharp weapon. I bit my lips and glared down at his feet knowing what was about to come. More members of the White Fang clustered around us as they were curious of what they were about to witness. Some who were listening to my ruthless insults jeered at me to further encourage their superior.

"Torturing isn't my thing kid," he clicked his tongue. "But if we want strong candidates like you in our organization, I'll be happy to."

His knife inched away from my skin as sweat dripped down from my forehead. I felt a slight prick on my forearm and saw the pool of blood coming out and streaming down to the chair. Tears welled up in my eyes as I held my screams to endure the pain. The dagger scaled up to my upper arm and slowly inflicted more scars.

"GRAAHHH." A screech left my mouth as I couldn't hold it in any longer. Spots of red glittered all over the knife and the floor with my red vital fluids. His torture tool trailed to my shoulder and dug deep into my body to leave a nasty scar in the future as a reminder of my protests. The dagger was finally pulled out of my body and blood gushed from my open wound. My aura tried to repair the gashes but could not keep up with the large numbers of lesions.

"Is that the best you got?" I panted with my head held high. Despite how terrible my odds were, I still fought back. An old habit that I will happily take to my grave. I spat the blood out of my mouth from the excessive biting I had done to endure the misery. The blood splattered onto the torturer's shoes, branding him of his ungodly actions.

"You little -"

The White Fang faunus lashed out at me with his fist, and knocked me out of my chair as my aura depleted dangerously low. Still bounded, I barely lifted myself off the ground and looked at him with a face full of scorn.

"You hit like a bitch," I swore with my 10 year old mouth.

A kick landed on the side of my ribs, bashing me against the wall. My aura shattered and my body sustained all the damage it took. I felt a grip on my short dark red hair and a yank back up. I wheezed heavily to catch my breath from the brute attacks I was receiving.

Shit, I think a rib broke...

Blood crawled down my forehead from grazing against the walls. It trickled down to my right eye and hindered a portion of my vision.

"You had enough kid?"

I tried to chuckle but couldn't as the pain was too overwhelming. I didn't have enough energy to carry out my strong demeanor anymore. I closed my eyes and let my ragged breath filled the tension in the air. My conscious was slowly fading from the excessive blood lost.

 _"Hey Ruby, why are you sitting out here?"  
"Oh hey... bzzzzt... I got scolded by dad again." I looked at my sister. She had...bzzzzzzt..., it really suited her.  
"You know,...bzzzzzzzzzzzzzt... You should take... bzzzzzzt..."  
"I guess I can," I rubbed the back of my neck. I noticed another man sat down next to me.  
"Hey kiddo, you okay?" the man next to me asked.  
"Oh hey uncle... bzzzzt... Yeah, only...bzzzzzzt... scolding. I'm...bzzzzzt... but it's...bzzzzzzzzzzt..."  
"Come on kiddo,...bzzzzzzzzzzzzt...He's only...bzzzzzzzzzzt... let's go back. Bzzzzzzt... Bzzzzzzt.. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt..."  
"Bzzzt...Bzzzzzzzzt... Bzzt.. Bzzzzt.."  
"Okay..." I got up and trudged back home with my uncle and sister._

"H-h-hey b-bosss... W-what's going on?"

"I-I don't k-know..."

A small familiar warmth of light wrapped around my body as I slowly gained back my consciousness. I rested my head back against the wall with my eyes half shut. A handful of White Fang members had a confused look written on their faces and scampered around like lost insects. I turned my attention towards my legs which was resting flat on the floor.

Why am I glowing?

A thin white glow emitted from my body as it healed the mass number of cuts on my body. It restored most of my skin back to its original luster making it seemed as if I didn't experience the gruesome torture at all. The wound on my shoulder stopped bleeding but still left a nasty scar, and my ragged breath returned back to normal.

My aura...? Wait, does that mean?

I tugged the tight ropes once again and it snapped easily. My eyes widen as I swallowed in what was currently happening.

I got my strength back? And my aura?

With my back bent forwards, my hands effortlessly ripped off the ropes binding to my ankles. The members of the White Fang trembled in fear as they watched the spectacle happening before them. I casually picked myself off the floor and allowed my ample of aura surge through my body. With a deep breath, I flicked my wrist and white particles enveloped my hand stretching out the form of Brahmastra.

Holy shit, I got everything back.

"Payback's a bitch," I said smugly, cocking my head back. I flicked my weapon with my left hand and let the force damage a portion of the warehouse.

 _"Bzzzzzzzt..., No fair! Can't do that!"  
"Rawr! I'm... bzzzzzztzilla!" She trampled the legos making ... bzzzzzzt. _

I raised my right hand in the air and muttered magical chants. A beam of light encircled the warehouse barricading the White Fangs like dogs in a cage.

 _A woman in her late 20's had wolfish... bzzzzzzzt.. perking out of her head. Her mesmerizing... bzzzzzzzzzt... of eyes shined... bzzzzt.. as my...bzzzzzt.. was allured by it_.

I planted my feet on the ground and sprinted forward with Brahmastra gripped tightly in my hands. With a loud grunt, I angrily swung my destructive weapon at the White Fangs. Massive amount of blood painted the warehouse grounds as I massacred my own kind.

 _My gaze broke off silver as...bzzzzzzzzzt... to a ...bzzzt.. man with spots of ...bzzzzzt... on his ...bzzt.. I gazed into his..bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt.._

Brahmastra fell onto the floor with a loud clattered and dissipated into the air. I was too worn out to maintain my weapon's form after my onslaught. I glanced around the warehouse and noticed an assortment of limbs littered all over the floor.

I threw back my head and laughed.

With a snap of my finger, the warehouse engulfed into flames. The fire consumed all traces of evidence as the inferno blaze burned them to ashes.

 _"I'm terribly sorry sir. We...bzzzzzt... and couldn't find...bzzzzzzt.. No weapon, no...bzzzzzt. We might...bzzt.. search.. bzzzzzzzt.."  
"What? No..bzzzzzzzt. You...bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt..."  
"Sir, the best we can...bzzzzzzzzzt. Our deepest...bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt,"_

 _Mom is..bzzt.._

I ignored the hazy memories surfacing above as revenge and rage overtook my mind. I trudged out the burning warehouse, and took a look at my surroundings. It didn't seem familiar... I was in some forest in a secluded area.

A loud rustling noise caught my ears and two red eyes peered out of the bushes. Slowly, a black body emerged from the hedges. A werewolf with black fur and bonelike spines stood tall on its hind legs and growled down at me.

Is that... A grimm? Is that what it's supposed to look like?

I forcibly dragged my legs, meeting the grimm eye to eye. With a smirk on my face, I clutched its black fur and yanked it down onto my level. I proceeded to smash its mask with my bare hands and gouge its innards out.

 _Apparently, my name is Ruby and I was just born. This woman named...bzzzzzzzzzt... is most likely my mother and the...bzzzt.. man named...bzzzzzt... must be my father._

My dull eyes stared at the black particles that drifted into the air as the grimm's body began to disappear. The white light emanating from my body slowly vanished. I arched my back and laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

I got my powers back.

All worn out, I forced myself to take a step forward, however, my legs immediately gave out and I collapsed onto the forest grass. I tried to lift myself up with my arms but it was no use, I was way too tired.

My eyes gradually closed as I fell unconscious.

* * *

The sun shined down through the forest trees and graced my eyes with its bright rays. I annoyingly brought my arms to block my eyes from the sun's path. I spread myself across the forest's grass and let out a rambunctious groan.

A throb pounded against the side of my head. I brushed my furry ears as I ran two hands through my hair. That's right. I was kidnapped and somehow I got my powers back. Then I obliterated their hide out with it.

Still laid out of the grass, I stuck out my right hand towards the sky with my fingers fanned out. My eyes stared at the back of my hand as I clenched and unclenched it. I let my gaze soften and nonchalantly closed my eyes. I concentrated my aura onto my hands and flicked my wrist.

Nothing.

I flicked my wrist again.

Nothing.

A sigh escaped from my dry cracked lips and I rested my hands behind my head. It was too good to be true. I turned and laid on the side of my body, mulling over about my next destination. I jolted straight up as a sudden thought came to me.

Of course, home!

I grasped my skull as another throb pulsated in my head. My heart fluttered with anxiety and I bit my lips. Where was home? Do I even have a home? Tears began staining my cheeks. I tugged my cloak closer to my body, only for it to bring slight comfort.

Why can't I remember?

I have a family. A sister, an uncle, a dad, and a mom but why can't I remember their names and faces? More tears rolled down my face as I thought about it longer. Should I find them? But where would I start?

I've been abandon once already.

I brought my knees to my chest and buried my face into them. This wasn't anything new, I had done this before. It was like repeating the past. I'm just in a different world as Ruby Rose. I can do it. I drew in a deep breath, wiped the tears on my face, and got up. I searched through the scorched warehouse for anything usable. With a few charred scraps of metals in my hands, I trek through the forest. I can do it.

I can survive.

* * *

 **If you haven't noticed, I don't describe weapons because I'm really bad at giving a detailed description. In the next chapter or so you will see how vague I depict weapons. So I will use Greek/mythological weaponry most of the time.**

 **I'm also a big Final Fantasy fan, so I borrowed one of the weapons from Final Fantasy 12. Chaos blade is Gabranth's weapon, credit goes to Square Enix.**

 **Fun fact: Rangifer is the genus or scientific term for reindeer. In my previous chapter, I described him with having small antlers.**

 **Let me know if the italicized words in this chapter were difficult to read.**

 **Thanks for reading. Please leave reviews, any feedback will help tremendously.**


	5. Late Night Excursion

**To clear up the previous chapter, Ruby didn't lose her entire memories. She still retained all her memories from the other world, but she lost some memories from Remnant. The next chapter will reveal a bit more information about it.**

* * *

15 Year Old Ruby, Present Day

"Little more to the left... Alright, now steady... Okay, hold! Thanks for the lift, Specialist Schnee!"

"It was my pleasure, Miss Rose. Your temporary assistance on my mission was of great value. It's a pity that a young prodigy such as yourself is leaving Atlas. If you can't find what you're looking for, the Atlesian Military will warmly welcome you."

"Thanks, but this is something I need to do. Give my regards to General Ironwood! Thanks to him, Crescent Rose doesn't look like a piece of scrap metal now!" I patted my beloved weapon behind my waist.

"I will leave him a message when an opportunity arise."

"Thanks!" I gave Winter a two finger salute and leaped out of the airship door hatch. The Valean wind whipped my face as I free fall in the air with my red cloak fluttering behind me. My shoulder length red hair blew back against the wind letting my neck feel the cool nightly breeze. Okay Ruby, I need a landing strategy. No using bullets... I'm too poor to afford anymore ammo. Living on the streets doesn't really give me a decent paycheck to buy anything. Okay, how to land... how to land...

I glanced around my surroundings and sighed as I was left with no choice. Got to do what I do best, destruction of property. I unfolded my crescent rose and swiftly buried its crescent shape against a nearby building to break my fall. My precious weapon shredded the concrete building as its blade embedded itself, leaving a notable and jagged scar on the structure.

Wow, Ironwood did a good job buying such high quality material for my weapon. Very durable and explosion proof. I took a long glance and frowned at the property damage I just created.

Ah, I hope no one saw that.

I clasped crescent rose back onto my holder and walked down the moon lit path. I took shelter at a nearby shop called _From Dust Till Dawn_ to lay low for awhile just as a safety precaution. It wasn't the first time that I almost destroyed a building because I was falling from the sky.

The door jingled, notifying the shopkeeper of my presence. I glimpsed around and noticed the entire store only had dust products except for a few minor magazines in the back. Duh, 'Dust' Til Dawn. I internally groaned at my choice of shop that I chose to take shelter in.

Dust, a source of energy used for a variety of purposes, most particularly in weapons used as an enhancement. Other than that information, I have absolutely no clue what else it did. Using dust wasn't my forte since I was barely taught on its usage. It was expensive and I rarely had the opportunity to learn about it or use it. When I did have the chance to use dust, all I knew how to do is make it explode. Literally. I just mix a few different dust together, shake it, and tah-dah - boom. Which is why Crescent Rose is crafted with explosive proof metals.

I awkwardly smiled at the shopkeeper and pretended to be a paying customer interested in his products. I strolled down the aisle towards the back of the shop and picked up a magazine that caught my silver eyes. A pair of red headsets sat snuggly on the wall in courtesy for magazine browsers. I shrugged at the thought of free music and placed it on my ears to blast whatever song was installed in the device. I flipped through the magazine and bobbed my head to the rhythm of the music.

Oh wow, look at that.

I stopped at a particular page of the booklet and took a hard look, ogling at the picture. Oh yeaaah. That long shaft and that nice curve on the tip. That's so seeexy. Every men or women would love to get a hold of that. It's not every day you see something that... Hard. "Now that's a katana!" I snapped my fingers, exclaiming out loud to no one whatsoever. My tail wagged in excitement. Blue dust infused graphene blade katana that is also modified as a semi-auto high velocity handgun. According to its description, it's the strongest and rarest material ever known to mankind. Before I could read more in depth, I was interrupted by an angry hard tap on my shoulder. I slipped off the headsets and turned around.

"Yes?" I asked politely, noticing a grunt in a black suit wearing red shades.

"I said, put your hands in the air, now!" He shouted.

"Are you... Robbing me?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes! What part of 'put your hands in the air' don't you get?"

"Fuck off," I snapped back at him, startling him in the process.

"W-w-what?"

"Did I stutter? I said - Fuck. Off." I folded my arms, leaned on one leg, and glared at him.

He was completely caught off guard with my current attitude. Apparently he has never seen a 15 year old spit out profanities like a bullet. I rolled my eyes at him. This was a waste of my time. I whipped out Crescent Rose and unfolded it in the process.

Ah shit, I forgot I was still in the store.

The gigantic scythe that was twice my size demolished a good portion of the store's ceiling and crumbled down onto the lackey. Luckily for me, only the corner of the roof fell down rather than the entire shop. Considering that it was a highly stocked dust store, it would've set off the biggest explosion in my record book.

I folded back my obnoxiously large garden tool and climbed to the top of the ceiling debris. My eyes trailed down from above and noticed an orange hair man with bangs covering his right eye complemented with a bowler hat. My lips turned into a frown when my gaze rested on a suitcase full of dust crystals.

"I don't like to make this anymore of a hassle than it should be. Is it quite possible for you to... Let's say, forget that this incident ever happened," the mysterious orange hair robber asked while twirling his cane in the store, leaning against the glass counter.

I furrowed my eyebrows at his question rather than responding.

"Okay... Aren't you a little too young to be out at night? Isn't it past your bed time?" The bowler hat man was now stalling as he was picking off the remaining dust crystals and shoving it into his case.

Wow, the nerve of this bitch! Stealing right before my very eyes while trying to have a conversation with me.

I jumped down onto leveled ground and noted the lowly grunts surrounding me. Five henchmen and the mastermind,this was doable. I sprinted forward to one lackey and caught him by surprise. I firmly grabbed his suit and threw him out the window. Not wasting any time, I climbed over the shattered window, marched towards him, picked him up by the collar, and knocked him out cold with my fist.

One down.

I turned around, now facing the front of the store, and noticed the dust thief signaling his henchmen to come after me. Each one took out their puny weapon and twirled it in a threatening manner. I scoffed and whipped out my enormous scythe. I deliberately showed off as I whirled it in the air and slammed the tip of its blade back down, smashing a little part of the city's street in the process.

"You sure you want to do this?" I asked, giving them a chance to leave.

Loud growls and grunts responded to my question. I shrugged and unhooked Crescent Rose from the ground and slung it over my shoulder. In response to my action, the thief's associates charged directly at me with loud battle cries. To their mistake, I swung horizontally using the back blade of my reaper tool to knock all four out in one blow.

"Geez guys, at least make it a challenge for me. You guys got your ass handed by a gi-." Before I finished my sentence, I exploded.

Go me, way to let down my guard.

I quickly picked myself from the floor and brushed the dust off my black and red corset dress. My aura received most of the explosion, leaving me unharmed. Clouds of dusts cleared from the surrounding area and my ears flickered to the sounds of running footsteps. I turned my attention to the direction of the rapid pitter pattering and saw that the criminal was making his great escape on the roof.

I chased after him and lifted myself high in the air from the rapid fire of a few magazines from my high caliber sniper scythe. I fired a bullet midair to increase my momentum as I swung my scythe straight down at him only to miss by an inch. To his shock, his balance was completely thrown off from the tremor as my curved blade obliterated a portion of the floor.

Smirking at this familiar scene, I bolted forward using my semblance. I clutched his suit with my right hand, and brandish a dagger that was hidden under my dress against his neck.

"Whoa whoa whoa, ease up on the hands Red. You're wrinkling my attire. This suit happens to be my favorite and it also happens to be quite pricey." The thief held up both hands defensively. The suitcase escaped from his grasps during the aftermath, and laid flatly on the edge of the roof.

My grip on his suit loosen as my ears twitched to the pulsating sound of whirling blades. Surprised, I felt a strong kick in my abdomen as the criminal took his chance to fight back. Now free from my grip, the crook collected his suitcase and hopped onto the airship that appeared from below the building.

"So long little Red! I'll send you the bill of my dry cleaning service!" He yelled out laughing. "But here's a early little tax from the tab."

He tossed down a red crystal onto the roof right

Oh shit, here comes another explosion!

I braced myself for the incoming combustion as I brought my arms up defensively. A bullet shot down onto the crystal, igniting the dust into a fiery explosion. However to everyone's surprise, a defensive barrier was raised to prevent me from harm's way.

"We got a huntsman!" The criminal voice entered through my ears as my eyes are still covered with my arms.

I casted my attention towards my temporary savior, a middle-aged woman wearing glasses with blond hair tied neatly in a bun with curls hanging down her face. The older woman flicked her crop-like weapon as retaliation. Sharp brick stones materialized in the air and darted in the direction of the enemy's airship.

However, a new associate of the bowler hat thief made an appearance and extended their hands out, deflecting every attack with a blast of their fiery power. The mysterious stranger counterattacked as they flicked their wrist, hurling fabricated balls of fire towards us.

No way... That's definitely magic!

I held my stance and grasped Crescent Rose tightly. I pressed a switch on the scythe unfolding it into another additional modification I installed awhile back. The red and black blade of the scythe collapsed down and its blade branched to one side, shortening into a single edge short blade. **[AN]**

Taking my battle stance, I swung my blade against the onslaught of fireballs to disintegrate as many fire as my blade can slice through. The fire lightly stung my cheeks as it dispersed into fractions. Preparing for countermeasures, I took out a small cartridge of leftover dust stored in my pouch that hung behind the hip of my waist. I inserted the container into the slot with a loud 'clank' and twisted the lever, switching it into a dust mode.

The lever allowed the cartridge of two dust mix and with a certain amount of kinetic force applied on the weapon, the two dust will react, turning into a destructive one sided explosion.

I shifted my stance and flung my dust blade, impaling it at the lower half of the airship. With such little dust I had left, it ignited a small explosion and made a small gash on the outer walls of the airship. Nonetheless, it wasn't enough to take down the big airship as the thieves retreated away into the night with a trail of gray smokes and the smell of burnt metal.

My hands ran through my hair and I took a long deep sigh. I can't believe I failed to retrieve the suitcase of stolen goods. I tilted my head further up and searched the pitch black sky.

Now where's Crescent Rose...

I squinted my eyes as I try to find a dangerous weapon falling at high velocity that exploded out of the transporting aircraft. It definitely hasn't landed yet or else my ears would've picked up a large crashing sound.

A small gleam sparked in the upper atmosphere and my eyes widen in fear as my weapon was falling straight at us. I grabbed the older woman's black cape and yanked her away from Crescent Rose targeted sight. In the nick of time, I dashed off to the side of the roof with a trail of rose petals behind me as my now empty cartridge dust blade demolished a section of the roof.

I plucked myself off the ground and walked towards the direction of my fallen tool of destruction. It was definitely a good idea to make Crescent Rose explosive proof.

The dusty debris began to settle and I noticed a scowl plastered on the blond woman's face while angrily tapping her foot on the ground.

Uh oh.

"So... Um. You're a huntress, right?" I rubbed the back of my neck. A bad habit I developed over the years when I was nervous.

"You're coming with me," the woman grabbed my hand and pulled me.

"W-w-wait! What did I d-do?"

"Oh, you know what you did."

"E-e-extensive property damage?" I squeaked.

* * *

"So... Where are you taking me?" I asked in attempt to make a small conversation to fill in the awkward silence. We were now sitting in one of the private airships, flying off to a set coordinate punched into the airship's computer system.

"Beacon Academy," the huntress answered, cutting the conversation nice and short.

My face crinkled at her answer. Beacon? Boarding school for huntsmen and huntresses? Why are we heading to there?

"Why?" I tried to inquire further.

"Someone would like to meet you."

"Are you... Going to tell me who?"

"That remains to be seen."

"O-okay..."

Wow... And I thought holding a conversation with Winter was difficult. This woman took it to a whole new level. Though it's better than receiving 'classified' as an answer.

I rested my head against the glass window and watched the view from above. The city's nightlife contrasted with the starry night as neon lights glimmered in the darkness. Mostly bars and clubs ruled the night in Vale, bringing life to its dullness.

I shifted my gaze towards the woman next to me. She was sitting properly straight up, and glaring a beeline at the airship's metallic walls making no movements or sounds. If she had heat vision, I swear she could burn a hole if she wanted to. My eyes veered away from her and back to the window.

This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

 **So I gave Ruby another weapon to go along with her scythe. Even though the mechanics of the 'dust blade' doesn't seem realistic, sue me. I don't plan her to constantly use it because there are a couple of drawbacks to it. It wont be stories where the character use their 'ultimate secret weapon to easily beat hard bosses.' There will be a minor of it but that's just how I'm planning to make the story flow.** **The cover image is a very quick drawing of my imagination. I apologize if it's blurry.**

 **Reviews are welcome!**

 **And Weiss makes her infamous debut in the next chapter (:**


	6. An Explosive Sunny Day

_"Miss Rose, you are under arrest for interrupting a highly classified mission and causing extensive property damage," the beautiful woman with white hair accused. She handed me back my identification card and her military foot soldiers surrounded me_

 _"What? You can't do that," I yelled and continued to snap back. "It's YOUR fault that YOUR mission interrupted ME. I just so happened to be around the area, trying to escape this despicable iced hell hole. But nooo, YOUR problems came running to me." I continued to shout with my arms crossed underneath my chest."In fact, you should be on your knees thanking me that I caught that criminals in the first place! Him and his accomplices were going to blow up the town with large quantities of pure dust!" I threw my hands up to exaggerate my point. "And where were you during that time? Oh wait, definitely not here! You're lucky enough that I'm a faunus and I know what explosives smell like." My tail behind me swished angrily._

 _Wow, she was easy on the eyes, but man she has one hell of an attitude._

 _"Miss Rose, I-" A phone call interrupted the militant commander. She glanced down at her scroll and proceeded to take the call. "General Ironwood, Sir. Yes sir, it was successful mission."_

 _I rolled my eyes at her. She was taking my credit._

" _That's good news sir! I'm glad she made it safe and sound. Yes sir. Also, I would like to bring someone back. Someone... interesting you would like to meet."_

 _Interesting? Since when was I interesting? Last time I checked, I was a criminal in her eyes. Unless she found criminals as interesting._

 _"Yes sir." She ended her call and looked at me. There wasn't any point of fighting the military army with my scrap Crescent Rose. I couldn't have my baby breaking on me in the middle of the fight. Especially when I partially restored her to her already low quality condition._

 _I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. Maybe if I followed along, I'll get a roof over my head. I extended both my hands out, waiting for handcuffs to be placed on my wrist. The militant woman raised an eyebrow, confused with what I was doing._

 _"Well? I'm waiting for that friendship bracelet you're going to place on me." I pointed at the pair of cuffs that was dangling on the side of her hips. She scoffed at my snarky remark and cuffed me._

 _"Oh yay. Now we'll be best friends," I spat out sarcastically. She escorted me back to Atlas, the place I was trying to escape from._

 _The Atlesian military headquarters wasn't as far as I would have imagined it. It stood far away from the residential district as it towered over the city, surrounded with Atlesian robots and foot soldiers. The white hair commander ushered me inside the building as we headed towards the top of the floor. She then knocked on her superior office's door and dragged me inside._

 _"Winter, you're back early." A well dressed man with white streaks in his black hair spoke up. "Dr. Polendina, meet Specialist Schnee." The other associate sitting across from the man stood up from the leather couch._

 _Winter huh? Reminds me of 'him', especially the white hair._

 _"A pleasure to meet you Miss Schnee." Dr. Polendina stuck his hand out to and Winter shook it._

 _"The pleasure is all mine, doctor." The woman used her respectfully polite voice. Dr. Polendina cocked his head over Winter's shoulder and was startled with what he saw._

 _"Hello there Miss Rose. It's good to see you again. Though it only has been approximately..." He paused and checked his watch. "...8 hours. I thought you were leaving Atlas," the doctor said with surprise._

 _"Oh hey doc. Well you see... I ran into a problem." I rudely pointed at Winter. "But don't worry, I got a friendship bracelet in return!" I grinned widely and raised my hand cuffs for him to see. "If you would like one, I'm sure Specialist Schnee have extras."_

 _Dr. Polendina hummed amusedly at my sarcastic comments. On another note, Winter did not take it too lightly as she was scowling at me, hoping to bury me 3 feet under with her deathly gaze._

 _"So this is the person you said was interesting. I have to admit, she has an interesting..." The older commanding officer hesitated, looking for the right words. "Sense of humor," he finished._

 _"Sir, disregarding her banters, her combat seems to be... Top notch, compared to most Atlesian combatants here. She single handedly took care of my assigned mission," Winter hesitantly admitted._

 _"So um... Can I get these off?" I shook my handcuffs to let them know I was still present in the room._

 _"Miss Schnee, if you would please," her commanding officer requested as he gestured his hand towards me._

 _"Yes Sir." She unlocked the handcuff and clipped it back onto her waist. I stroke the red marks on both of my wrist, massaging the pain away._

 _"So uh, who are you?" I pointed at the male superior officer._

 _"Pardon me for my lack of introductions. I am General Ironwood, headmaster of Atlas Academy, and a general in the Atlesian military," he answered and extended his hand out for me to shake._

 _"Ruby Rose," I revealed, politely taking his hand._

 _"Ruby Rose huh?" The general raised his eyebrows in surprise. "So Miss Rose, I have many questions for you but I'm afraid I have to cut most of it short. If you don't mind me asking, how do you know Dr. Polendina?"_

 _"Long story short,I- ah. Helped him with, um. Penny sir," I replied back. The general gave Dr. Polendina a quizzical look but the doctor only nodded in agreement with my answer._

 _"So you know of Penny," General Ironwood mumbled while scratching his morning shave. "Miss Rose, I would like you to keep Penny undisclosed from the public. Rather, you must, since she is a highly classified technology ." Ironwood strongly emphasized on the word 'must' ._

 _I took a few moments to absorb the new information. Classified huh? I smiled and took the opportunity to make a compromise._

 _"Sure thing general, but only if you do something for me in return," I said with a pleased smile. "If you want me to keep this a secret, I only need a few things. First, I want the best durable material you have in stock. The material must be explosion proof too. And I'm going to need a workshop because Crescent Rose needs a new body!" I happily exclaimed. The thought of Crescent Rose being properly refurnished made me restless. It's been awhile since I held and used a proper weapon._

 _"That's a lot you're asking for Miss Rose. How about you temporary work with Miss Schnee on her next mission considering you have high capabilities. Materials do not run cheap you know. Her mission should last for a week. I'm sure your abilities will not hinder her considering she sort of... acknowledges your skills," he proposed. I waited for Winter to make an interjection but to my surprise she stood professionally straight with her hands clasped behind her back._

 _"You also have to consider that I wrapped up your last mission. Throw in a few dusts, clothes, and a new scroll and you have yourself a deal," I stated. General Ironwood nodded his head and shook my hand as we finalized our verbal contract._

I felt a strong nudge trying to awaken me from my deep slumber.

"We're here. Welcome to Beacon," the woman spoke in a monotone voice. I rubbed my eyes and blinked multiple times, letting a big yawn as I stretched my arms.

The door opened and we walked out of the docked airship, returning back onto flat solid ground. Leaving the outer perimeter and more towards the main area, Beacon stood proudly as it became visible to our eyes in the darkness. The huntress led me down the main avenue and to the direction of the massive clockwork tower that stood right smack dead center of the campus. Entering the said mysterious building, we stepped into the elevator and headed straight up towards the top.

"So why are you taking me here?" I asked, trying to avoid the silence once again.

"Like I have previously state before, someone would like to meet you," she answered. I rolled my eyes because there was absolutely no point in trying to probe her for answers.

A 'ding' echoed in the chambers of the elevator as its door propped open to let us out from its long and boring vertical transportation. I stared straight ahead and noticed a tousled silver hair middle aged man wearing glasses spectacles. He was resting his chin against his folded hands, waiting for me.

"Ruby Rose...You have silver eyes. Please take a seat," the man stated as the blond woman returned right beside him. "How are you liking the view of Beacon?"

I took his offer and slumped against the seat. The woman glared disapprovingly at my action and slapped her crop against the man's table, jolting me to sit up straight.

Yikes, she's scary.

"Beacon is... Nice." My posture was straight, with my hands folded on my lap. "But more importantly, I would like to learn how you know my name?" I ignored his compliment about my eyes as I was hung over about how he knew my name. I didn't make myself well known, because I had other things to focus on.

"Let's just say that a certain general briefly mentioned your name," the mysterious man chuckled. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you meet the general?"

Great, General Ironwood is gushing over me.

"I happened to come across Pe-" I coughed to cover my slip up. It wouldn't be good to break a deal that Ironwood and I made just about two weeks ago. "An associate," I fixed myself. "I happened to come across one of his associates. I left constructive criticisms about their new invention about how it needs a... proper tune up."

Yep, Penny definitely needs major tune ups. Poor girl needed to fix her lack of social awareness and her sense of direction. She got lost in Atlas and I happened to be one of the most interesting people to talk to because I was a faunus. Unknowingly to her, it was a really awkward conversation. A few minutes into our conversation later, I freaked out because she buzzed in weird ways and smokes steamed from her body.

"And what is a faunus such as yourself walking around in Atlas?"

"I was a vagabond," I shrugged. "I took the cheapest airship and left without know where I was going."

After my kidnapping in Vacuo, I took the most inexpensive bullhead that I could afford. Money was difficult to come by, especially as a faunus. I headed straight to Atlas because it was the cheapest flight I could take. However, little did I know that Atlas held a notorious reputation for their discrimination against faunus. I didn't know about it during that time until I experienced a hell a lot of prejudice from the residents. They threw whatever their hands could get, and spat whatever came to their mind. By the end of the day, I dug through tossed away scraps to restore as much of my weapon as possible so I could get the hell out and find a way to earn money again. And that's when I accidentally bumped into Penny.

"A vagabond you say? And how did a vagabond learned how to fight like this, or let alone wield the most dangerous weapon ever designed?" He flipped through a slideshow of videos of my fight on Vale's streets.

"My Uncle?" I half lied. I remembered about my uncle going over the basics of how to properly swing a scythe around, but most of it was from dedicated practice and previous knowledge back from my world. "I think it was my uncle, but I'm not too sure myself because I lost my memories. I just know I have a family and retained some memories of the time we spent. But I can't seem to place a name or a face to go with those memories. Or let alone remember where in the world they lived."

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee and nodded with sympathy of my past struggles. Before I could ask him anything, he threw another question out at me.

"Do you know who I am?" He placed a box of cookies onto his table from his drawer.

A loud grumbling noise escaped from my stomach as I hungrily eyed the box of cookies. The man gave a nodding approval, a signal for me to indulge myself. Hesitantly, I took a piece and ate one. Then two. Then three. Then I inhaled the whole box.

"You're Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon." I confidently answered after swallowing my last piece. Back at Atlas, I read a newspaper article laid out on Ironwood's desk. It had a picture of the four headmasters with a description to go along with it.

"How would you like to attend Bea-"

"Not interested," I bluntly cut him off. Ozpin was taken aback with my straightforward response.

"And why is that, Miss Rose?"

"Well first of all, I'm a lone wolf and I don't need a team. As a matter of fact, I'm too young to even join your prestigious academy."

Other than my temporary alliance with Winter, I worked alone during my five years of wandering around. I learned that being a faunus had its disadvantages. Even though they had unique abilities, their social status wasn't highly notable. Thus, I travelled alone and fought grimm alone. I shortly left Atlas's premises once I returned Penny. I ruled out that there was no way in hell my family would reside in that despicable iced shell hole. And it just so happened I interfered with Winter's mission when I crossed the next closest town.

"After examining your abilities from this night's excursion, we have deemed that you are ready to attend Beacon. Then, you would be allocated into a team. After all, a wolf needs its pack." The headmaster stated, refusing back down.

"Why?" I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. I was slightly curious, but I wasn't exactly willing to give in that easily. "Why do you want to go to Beacon?"

"I think your parents would be delighted to know that their daughter is attending the same academy that they graduated from."

I flinched from his response. "Y-y-you know my family?"

"Indeed I do Miss Rose. Your family was devastated on your disappearance. Your uncle was constantly looking for you whenever he could."

I was stunned with what he just said. "I-I don't understand." I whispered softly. "How hard could it be to find a little girl stuck in Vacuo?" I was confused. If they were dead set on finding me, how could we have missed each other?

"Vacuo? Why were you in Vacuo when you were last seen in Vale?" Ozpin shot a questioning look at me.

A throbbing pressure pulsated on my head. "W-What do you mean?"

"You family scoured all of Vale to look for you." Ozpin pushed his glasses further up his nose.

"I was in Vacuo the whole time..." I softly spoke. My fingers curled in my hair, digging into my scalps as things started to connect. There was no way that my family could find me because we were in two different kingdoms. They searched all of Vale, while I searched all of Vacuo. I had guessed that my family lived in Vacuo because the White Fang's hideout was deep in the forest of Vacuo.

"It seems like there was an unforeseen complication in our search," Ozpin solemnly looked down and shook his head disappointedly.

I gritted my teeth and stared at the tiled floor. I was frustrated. Frustrated that I spent practically five years stranded in one kingdom just to find out that everything was for naught. My determined eyes glanced back to Ozpin. With a deep cleansing breath, I made my final decision. "I'll do it. I will join your academy, but I want you to answer a question."

"Of course Miss Rose. It is our job as professors to answer all your questions appropriately." He smiled at me.

"Then where can I find my family?"

"Time will tell Miss Rose."

"Bullshit!" I slammed my hands on his desk, rattling the antiques that sat neatly. The blond woman felt threatened and readied her weapon, but Ozpin held his hand up. "Don't give me that when time already wasted five years of my life!"

"Do you believe in destiny?" He raised his an eyebrow, unfazed by my impulsive behavior.

"No." I muttered, trying to calm myself down.

"Then I hope you have a little more faith in destiny," he smiled at me again. "First orientation will begin tomorrow morning. I suggest you get a good night sleep. I'm sure you've already met my assistant Glynda." He gestured his hands towards the blond woman. I looked at Glynda and she scowled at me back.

"That's professor Goodwitch. Be sure to show up at 9 A.M sharp."

I stormed out of his office, frustrated with vague answer. I left the clockwork tower and proceeded take my anger out on a nearby tree. My fist slammed against the bark, shaking a few leaves off its branches. There was nothing I could do about it. Ozpin was my answer to find what I was looking for.

I strolled around campus until I found a large enough bench to lay on. It wasn't the most desirable bed, but it will do. My tail wrapped snugly against my waist with my cloak as my only blanket.

Tomorrow will be a long day.

* * *

 _"This will be the day we've waited for, this will be the day we open up the door."_

My scroll chimed its alarm and jolted me wide awake with its blaring music. I slammed the button to stop the buzzing device and picked up the scroll to check the time. 5:45 A.M. I groaned out loud as I wasn't use to waking up this early.

I sat up with my back slouched over. My face pressed flatly against the palm of my hands and I rubbed my eyes to rouse myself. Between my fingers, I peeked around to see if there were any bystanders.

Nope, thank goodness.

I wasn't in the mood to deal with people with questioning look on their faces of why a faunus is sleeping on a bench. Actually, I'm pretty sure I would have been harassed if they saw me.

I shuddered at the thought of Atlas. The people there were just dreadful.

I stood up from the bench and extended my toned arms high up in the air, stretching my body as much as my toes allowed me to. Satisfied with the kinks unrolled, I took a walk around Beacon to familiarize myself with the area and later made a short pit stop by the bathroom to clean myself up.

Got to look presentable at least.

By the time it was 7:30 A.M, I noticed a bustling crowd at the docking bay. I sat on a nearby bench at the center of the courtyard and decided to observe the incoming students as they came out of the vehicular deathtraps. A shaggy blond hair boy with a diamond shaped chest plate was the first to exit one of the docked airships. He tumbled out of the entrance and threw his head into a nearby trash can to empty his stomach.

I chuckled at the entertaining but grotesque sight. It was orientation day and this guy was already a mess. Poor guy. My eyes trailed to the students around him and noticed another blonde shooting a death glare at vomit boy. A pulsating headache shot through when I glanced at the woman. However, I ignored it and continued to observe her. From the matching color of her yellow and brown outfit, I noticed a slight unusual color stain on her shoes, blemishing her perfect attire.

Oh man, vomit boy is certainly having a rough day.

I laughed out loud to myself, drawing unwanted attention. People gave me weird looks and shuffled away, most likely identifying me as 'weird' and placing me in a 'do not socialize' category. I rubbed my neck and decided to leave the main avenue early.

While taking long strides on the massive pathway that lead to the main building, something caught my attention. Attached to someone's back was something that I vaguely recognized.

Holy shit! Is that a bowsword? Oh wow it is! It looks similar to -

"GAH," I yelped as I collided into a luggage cart with its heavy suitcases toppling all over me.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" A woman voice shrieked into my ears. Gosh, she was really loud.

"Ah! I'm so sorry I-" I yelled out a genuine apology. When I opened my eyes, my breath got caught in my throat. My eyes scanned down the young girl dressed in all white with her white hair, pulled back, asymmetrical ponytail glimmering from the sun's rays. A crooked scar marked down on her left eye to complete her badass but sexy look. Then I felt a creeping blush growing on my face. Oh dust, she was gorgeous. She looked similar to Winter but younger and definitely hotter.

Silver met cerulean eyes

"Apology not accepted! Do you know how much damage you could have caused?" The attractive white hair girl screamed. "This is dust! High quality dust from the Schnee quarry!"

Schnee? Winter owns a dust farm? Maybe she can hook me up with some discounts.

"Are you even listening to me?!"

Okay Ruby, play it cool.

"Um, yeah of course. I-uh, you know-um. Damage control is definitely my middle name..." I drifted off slowly while awkwardly laughing.

Smooth.

Really, damage control? More like damage inducer. I internally slapped myself for having absolutely no experience in the realm of dating. I didn't have time to find people. Being a guild leader itself was already time consuming enough.

The girl jerked her suitcase right from my hands. "Look, high quality dust!" The woman opened the white suitcase and took out a purified red dust crystal. She further emphasized her point as she shook her dust crystal in front of me. "Do you even know what dust is?"

"Uhh... Not really? I mean yes! Psh, of course I do! It's- " Before I could woo her over with my nonexistent intelligence on dust, my face scrunched up to the flakes of red dust entering through my nostrils.

Aw shit.

"ACHOOO"

I made an involuntarily expulsion of air. At least, I wished it was a harmless sneeze. We exploded instead, damaging a good portion of the school's courtyard.

Way to make a good impression Ruby. You just showed her how great you are at exploding. I just hope Ozpin wouldn't arrest me for property damage.

"GRAH! YOU COMPLETE DOLT!" The woman threw her hands in the air with frustration. "This is what happens when you give a faunus a few dust! Their pea size brain can't comprehend its complexity!"

Great, the good-looking girl is a faunus hater. Way to pick and choose.

"Look, I already said sorry. Just accept my apology already, Princess." I finally snapped.

"It's heiress, actually. Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." A new husky voice joined the conversation.

Weiss and I turned our attention to the unfamiliar voice. A girl with amber eyes and long raven hair stood off to the side with a bow wrapped on top of her head. She had a distinct scent around her... Like a faunus smell.

"Finally, some recognition!" Weiss said smugly.

My eyes trailed back to the heiress. Wait a minute... Weiss Schnee. Schnee? My eyes widen as it finally clicked in my head.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor force and-"

"How could I miss that?!" I cut off the other faunus's sentence, startling both women with my loud shouts. "You're a Schnee." I now pointed at the white hair woman who was now giving me a look of 'obviously'. "The resemblance and attitude is uncanny. You're Wi-"

"Ruby? Is that you?"

There was an awkward brief silence in the air before I diverted my attention to the source of the voice that just cut me off. It was the same blond woman who shot death glares at vomit boy.

"Who are you?" I asked without a smile

"It's me... Yang."

* * *

 **Song credit: This Will Be The Day by Jeff Williams**

 **To clear up any confusion, the White Fang transported Ruby from Vale to Vacuo. She was stuck in Vacuo for nearly 5 years and left recently to Atlas. So yes she did attempt to find her family. Why didn't she leave earlier than 5 years in Vacuo? Well, it's hard to earn money especially as a faunus. It's like living a life of a homeless person, and I will explain little by little in a bit more details in future chapters.**


	7. A Bit Of Fate

**I apologize that this is my shortest chapter yet, but I didn't want to make an awkward flow.**

* * *

I tiled my head to the girl named Yang. She had a blond tangled mane that flowed all the way down her back and a tan jacket that barely covered her midriff. Her eyes and face softened when she spoke to me.

Silver met lavender eyes.

Another throbbing tension pounded my head. "Yang? Sorry I don't know anyone by the name of Yang," I quickly turned back around to face Weiss and noticed the she was shuffling her feet awkwardly on the floor. "Hey, um- Weiss. I'm really sorry about before. I-"

Suddenly, the blond woman tugged on my cloak to grab my attention.

"What do you mean you don't know anyone by the name of Yang?" The blonde's voice sounded heartbroken.

"Hands off the cloak!" I snarled at her, jerking the red cape from her hands.

The cloak was very important to me because it was a gift from my mom, the closest thing I had that felt like home. It brought me comfort during the darkest nights and kept me warm in the coldest times. And lastly, I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it.

Yang flinched back with a shocked look on her face. For unknown reasons, I felt a twinge in my chest when her shocked face turned into dejection. I turned my head around and noticed the raven hair Faunus and the white heiress weren't here anymore. I quickly glanced at my scroll to check the time. 8:45 A.M.

Oh man, we might be late for orientation.

I turned my attention back to Yang and recognized the same dejected face she still had hanging on. I chewed on the inside of my cheeks and sucked up my pride to bring the girl back to the world of living. "Um, Yang is it? Sorry about earlier. I'm just a little bit sensitive when it comes to my cape. So uh... I hope we can still be friends if we can get passed this whole incident," I used my hands to gesture everything around us. I mustered up an apologetic smile and took off to the main building.

"I-I-I'm sorry sis. P-Please d-don't go."

My back flinched as my ears caught a faint, soft like velvet voice from behind. I immediately stopped my tracks and turned around to face her. I recalled Ozpin's words from the previous night as he mention something about destiny.

"What did you say again?" I cocked my head to the side. More twinges pounded in my chest as I noted her eyes swelling with tears.

"I-I'm sorry."

"No, what did you just called me?" My voice was soft and gentle, almost like a whisper. My ears drooped back and my face lightened up.

"S-sis..."

I let her word sink in for a moment. My memories were like puzzle pieces. They were messily scattered, waiting patiently to be placed into the right spot. Some were probably lost, hiding deep within my subconsciousness behind an unreachable vault. Remaining memories of my blurred face sister flooded my mind as I began to piece Yang's name and her face back into the picture. Not all my memories came rushing back to me, but Yang's did. Tears raced down from my face as I covered my mouth with my two hands to stifle the sounds. My knees were wobbly, and before I knew it, my legs could no longer support the weight of my body.

"Ruby!" Yang cried out.

She ran towards me once I collapsed onto the floor. By the time Yang rushed by my side, I grabbed her hand and jerked her down with me. I tightly coiled my arms around her body and buried my face into the yellow scarf that she had wrapped around her neck. For the first time in these past five years, I cried. My throat tightened as I kept drawing short breaths. Insuppressible sounds escaped from my quivering lips, moistening her neck and her scarf. She draped her arms around me and tenderly brushed the back of my hair with her fingers. I could feel her hot wet tears falling down from her face as her chin trembled on top of my head. Suddenly, she breathed deeply through her nose and exhaled softly. Her mouth opened and then sealed back.

She started to hum.

She began vocalizing a certain song that seemed all too familiar. A song that mom hummed whenever I had a nightmare or when I was down in the dumps. Her silent melody caressed my ears while her ginger touches embraced my hair to the vibration of her lips. And that did it.

Gut-wrenching sobs tore open my chest and my lungs.

Like how I always remembered my sister supposed be, Yang whispered comfortingly into my wolfish ears saying how everything was okay. How our family was now back together. And how much she missed me. Her lips nudged my delicate ears, planting soft kisses. A mixture of tears and spittle soaked through her scarf and onto her skin. I tried to open my mouth to say something but no words can describe what I'm feeling. Happy? Confused? Sad? Angry? No, none of these seemed to be an appropriate description. The emotions that I was feeling right now were far too jumbled up to even be distinguished. But there was one word that could describe my five years.

Lonely

Being a Faunus didn't make it easier to survive in Remnant. No, it was much harder. Harder than when I was living in my world. I couldn't eat grimm. I wasn't born with magic, or naturally gifted because of my race. To be honest, I felt kind of useless. For once, I felt like a worthless piece of trash. I had to work with what I had: the clothes on my back, my predispose knowledge, and my semblance. Since Remnant was dominated by mostly humans, it was difficult to beg on the streets. It made a lot of sense of why the White Fangs were created. Humans normally didn't show any compassion towards Faunus. It was sickening to know that some people would even have the courage to throw insults or physically torment us Faunus.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry Y-Yang." Uncontrollable tears spilled from my eyes. "I-I-I didn't know-"

"Shhh... No Ruby. I'm sorry," Yang interrupted. She bent forward and held me tighter as we sat on the floor. "I shouldn't have left you back then. I should've been there and protected you. We tried looking for you. We all did, but we had no clues... I am so sorry. Dust, I am so so-" Yang choked on her sob before she could finish her sentence. Tears, once again, stained her flawless skin and her body tremored.

"Yang," I gently lifted my head. I met her wet eyes and I gave her a weak smile. With a single swipe of my thumb, I wiped a few tears trickling down her face, then brushed her cheek with the back of my hand. "I-I-It's not y-your f-fault." I took a deep breath to suppress my shaky voice. "It's my fault that I couldn't remember."

"W-w-what? W-what do you mean?"

"I lost some of my memories. I couldn't remember some of the time we spent together, where home was, who my family was, or what they even looked like," I disappointingly explained. I tried looking for them, but it was difficult with the hazy memories. To top it off, no one would even bother to help a lowly Faunus like me. That was why I traveled for 5 long years. I trained and wandered around, searching for home. If I did had any recollection, I would've went back in a heartbeat.

"I'm so sorry Rubes." She kissed the top of my head. "Even though you lost some, we can always make new ones together." Then she shook her head and corrected herself. "No, we definitely will. We will make new memories together. Now and forever in the future." Corners of her lips stretched wide, showing me the brightest smile I had ever seen from the last five years.

"I'm really glad to see you again." Her arms tightened further, constricting my chest.

"Ack- Yang. Crushing me." I managed a laugh out. Dust, I missed her bear hugs that she always gave me back when I was little. Yang's strength never seemed to disappoint me. It was kind of scary to see how much strength she had acquired from these past five years. Compared to her, I only managed to gain the muscles I needed to nonchalantly swing Crescent Rose around.

"Sorry Rubes," Yang sniffled a chuckle and unraveled her arms around my rib cage.

"Umm, Yang. Do you happen to know what time it is?" I sniffed and wiped my damp face with my sleeves.

"Oh yeah let me check," she paused and took out her scroll. "Oh it's only 9:30..."

Her last word trailed off and it took a brief second for it to sink in. We were late. It would make sense considering there was no one around us. However, Yang and I were oblivious to realm of the living as we were both stuck in our little world, trying to rekindle what we thought was lost.

"GAH!" I screeched at the top of my lungs, fumbling back onto my feet. Yang had to plug both ears with her finger to reduce the screeching sound of my high pitched harpy voice. "Yang, we need to go. We're late!"

"Right behind you sis! But Rubes..."

I turned my attention to my long forgotten but now remembered sister.

"Get ready to eat my dust because you're not getting any cookies," she smirked.

I snorted as a response. It's great to have you back Yang.

It truly is.


	8. Beacon

Countless breaths escaped from Yang's mouth while her back was bent forward with her hands clutching on her knees. Compared to mine, her breaths were shallow and short.

"Jeez Ruby," Yang heavily wheezed like a fish out of water. "Where can I get legs like yours? From the black market?"

"You are more than welcome to steal my legs. If you can catch me that is." A wide smile spread across my lips as I teased her. "Also stop breathing too loud. You're attracting unwanted attention."

Students were stealing glances at us and secretly whispering to each other's ears. Unbeknown to them, I could practically hear every word they say, so they weren't technically being secretive. They were curious of the two students who were brave enough to be late to orientation, especially if it was a prominent school like Beacon. To be fair, we weren't extremely late. We were fashionably late by only 50 minutes.

"It's not called unwanted attention if I want attention," Yang flipped her long mane and winked at a group of boys and girls looking at us. If I could take a closer look in their eyes, I'm pretty confident that I would see hearts fluttering around in a few of them.

I held my face in my hands, shaking my head in exasperation. Through the five years that I haven't seen Yang, I never knew she would be this embarrassing. Whether it was for the better or worse, a lot has changed. I peeked through the gaps of my fingers and noticed that Glynda took the stage for the remaining ten minutes of the scheduled orientation.

During Glynda's long winded speech about rules and proper behavior, I spaced out as soon as my attention span started decreasing. My eyes were heavily drooping, head bobbed up and down, and an unattractive drool slithered down from the corner of my mouth. Dust, she was super boring. My eyes started wandering around to find something more entertaining to look at rather than the dull teacher. Then I noticed a distinct white hair individual sticking out like a sore thumb on the other side of the auditorium.

I shifted a few steps forwards to get a better view of the white heiress and allowed my gaze to soften under her refined elegance. She was definitely better to look at than the professor. To my disappointment, I felt a jab to my shoulder, snapping me back to the uninteresting aspects of reality. I twisted my head to murder the person responsible for ruining such a important moment with my two eyes, but what I saw was Yang smirking.

Oh no... She knows.

"Way to make it so obvious sis," Yang teased. "I'm pretty sure Ice Queen over there can feel you gawking at her."

"I wasn't gawking," I denied, feeling a hot blush coming about. "I was... admiring. Yeah, admiring."

"Whatever you say to make you feel better," she snickered. I wish I could wipe that smile off her face off, but knowingly, I couldn't do that. I just found my sister not too long ago. I wasn't planning to murder her immediately.

"Y-you're not disgusted with me are you?" I stuttered. In my world, love comes in all different shapes and sizes. I even had members in my guild batting for the same team. People didn't care about who you liked or what you mated.

"Nope," she said, emphasizing the 'p'. "I'm just glad to have you back little sis." Yang put me in a stranglehold and ruffled my hair. This time, I tolerated her action as I still had a lingering memory of the lesson learned after tugging a few strands of her hair.

"Wait, Ya-"

"Miss Rose and Miss Xiao-Long," Professor Goodwitch called out from the stage, putting us on blast. Yang and I shrunk back as majority of the student body in the vicinity had eyes gluing to us, now aware of our identification and our faces to go along with it. "I would appreciate it if you girls would appropriately behave. Back to the topic in hand, you students will gather in the ballroom tonight. Be ready and get a full nights rest as your initiation begins tomorrow morning. You are dismissed."

I nudged Yang with my elbow and wiggled my eyebrows. "Well Yang, you did say that you always wanted attention." Yang looked at me with a not amused face and whacked my shoulder.

We were probably both on Professor Goodwitch's bad list now.

* * *

Beacon.

A broken moon glimmered down on Beacon, embellishing it with its silvery moonlight rays. The calm chilled breeze blew past the majestic building as it sat on the edge of the cliff over by the river. Sounds of harmonious waves crashed down on the bottom of the cliff, bringing a serene music in the silent night.

I slid my hood over my head to protect myself from the gentle breeze that stung my cheeks as I slipped out of the main building, avoiding the jabbering crowds of student clustered in one room. I navigated my way to the outer perimeter of Beacon in search for a more peaceful sanctuary. Right over at the ledge of the cliff, I sat down and allowed my eyes indulge on the beauty of Vale. Its dazzling city lights glinted over the clamorous river, leaving a remarkable reflection of the night lights. Drawing a deep breath, I inhaled the scent of the river's clear fresh aroma as the water crashed underneath me. This was very nice.

"I knew you would be here."

I hummed in acknowledgement of the recognizable voice and continued to stare out into the distance. "Hey Yang, what are you doing here?" I asked, dangling my legs over the ledge.

"I can ask you the same question," my sister replied, sitting right next to me on the edge of the cliff. "Shouldn't you be inside socializing with the other students and making new friends?"

I didn't have it in me to socialize with the other students and converse about topics I wouldn't really care about. To be exact, I wasn't in the mood seeing that I was still flustered from today's emotional rollercoaster.

"Nah, I'm not use to the whole company kind of thing. Lone wolf had been my style lately."

"A lone wolf no more! I'm adding myself to the pack," Yang shot a smile back at me. She threw her arm over my shoulders and pulled me closer to her. Both of us were enjoying the silence in the air as we were watching the view.

"Can I ask you something?" Yang turned her head to give me her full undivided attention. "Do you..." I paused for a second, hesitating. "Do you think you can take me home soon?"

Yang had a questionable look on her face because of the silly question I brought up. Obviously, I would be able to go home at one point. However, I wouldn't know how soon that would be considering I wasn't familiar with Beacon's holiday schedules. And as of right now, I wanted to go home soon, very soon.

The corner of Yang's mouth lifted up as she released my shoulders from her muscular arms. She gently grasped onto the edge of my hood and tugged it back, freeing my hair from the warmth of my hood. My ears flickered to the smooth movement of Yang's hand as she caressed my ears and my hair in a motherly fashion.

"Of course sis. Dad and Uncle Qrow will be happy to see you again. Zwei too!"

I smiled back to Yang at the thought of finally going back home. Questions circulated in my head as I wonder what dad and Uncle Qrow looked like. Or perhaps, what mom would look like. And how happy they would be to see me.

Then it suddenly dawned on me that one more person was missing from the picture. "How about mom?" I finally asked. "Wouldn't she be happy to see me again?" I curled into my cloak for comfort. My sister never mentioned about mom being happy to see me again.

Yang stopped caressing the top of my head and folded her hands onto her lap. She tilted her head to the half shattered moon in the sky, avoiding my eye contact. "She'll be happy to see you too," she whispered quietly. Letting the gravel sink into my skin, I leaned back onto the palm of my hands with a satisfied look on my face.

"So, what happened on that day?" Yang mustered up the courage to ask.

The smile left my face and was now replaced with melancholy. It wasn't the best memories that I would like to recall, but the topic was inevitable. Yang flinched in response to my facial expression, waving her hands in the air as if the topic was some kind of taboo.

"Um-it's okay if you don't want to tell me," Yang tried to reassure me. But her face said the opposite, she wanted to know. She looked like a kick puppy that was tossed on thin ice with lava right underneath it.

I shook my head. "I was trying to get back to you and dad but then I got ambushed by more White when I woke up, their hideout was gone and I lost some of my memories," I half lied to her with a shrug. I couldn't tell her that I magically got my powers back or massacred and burned the White Fangs to cinders. Hell, I couldn't even tell her that I wasn't even from this world to begin with. "I don't know how I lost my memories. I wish I knew," I honestly answered.

"Thanks for telling me Rubes," she ruffled my hair. "Now that I'm here, I'll make sure you don't lose anymore. How did you come to Beacon anyways?" She threw a different question at me, intentionally changing the topic.

"Ozpin invited me to attend Beacon after trying to stop a robbery in Vale."

"Roman Torchwick?"

"Who?" I cocked my head to the side.

"Some criminal that I saw on the news while I was heading to Beacon today," she lifted her shoulders, shrugging.

Goosebumps formed mountains on my skin, sending me shivers through my body. I wrapped my cloak more around my small but fit body, trying not to freeze from frostbites. Whether it was from my memories of Torchwick trying to blow me up or the cold night, I wasn't sure. Yang flipped her older sister switch as she noticed the bumps erecting on my skin.

"Come on let's go back. It's getting a bit chilly here even though I don't feel it."

We returned to the main building, strolling back into the ballroom. Right at the entrance of the room, I buried my hands into my face, trying to burn the sight of shirtless male students flaunting their muscles. Yang nudged me with her elbow and wiggled her eyebrows, liking with what she sees. I rolled my eyes at her, unimpressed with what I see. The only person I would like to see shirtless is -

"YOU!"

I covered my poor, sensitive faunus ears as my sister exerted her loud voice at someone. Her voice and her furrowed eyebrows were directed at a shaggy blond head. Vomit boy shrunk his head back in his outlandish one piece. He hesitantly turned his head, hoping to see who he didn't want to see.

"You owe me a new pair of shoes!

"Wha-"

"You stained my shoes! Ooh, I'm so going to ki-" I placed my hands onto Yang's mouth, interrupting her, so she can stop being Yang. We weren't really on Professor Goodwitch's good side anymore. Killing a student with a bunch of eye witnesses wouldn't exactly do it justice.

"Nice to meet you vomit boy," I smiled at the shaken blond boy, wiping the slobber from my hand onto my dress.

"It's nice to meet you too Crater face," he crossed his arms on his chest with a sly smile.

"Crater face?" My jaw dropped as I was taken aback to my new nickname. Out of all the nicknames bestowed down to me, it had to be crater face.

"You exploded remember?" He placed his hand under his chin, rubbing the nonexistent facial hair around the area. "Actually a lot of people saw that."

I groaned loudly, thumping my head onto Yang's shoulder. "Yang, please kill me. I think I'm infamously known as 'exploding weird girl on Badwitch's side' all around Beacon." Rather than doing what I told her, my sister snickered instead.

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue - ladies love it!"

"And how many times have to said that before?" My face still planted on Yang's shoulder, mumbling.

From the sound of it, Jaune seemed to be rubbing his neck. "Ah hah... This is actually my first."

"Yang?" I removed my face from her shoulders. She looked at me and read my mind.

"Nope, not working at all for me."

"Me neither. Sorry Jaune, that's zero out of two. That's a failing grade," I shot a grin at him and patted him on the back. He was slumping down in defeat, arms hanging. "But we can still be friends!" I hollered out, while Yang and I walked passed him. My ears picked up to Jaune's voice behind me. He was excitedly throwing a fist pump while saying something about having new friends.

The ballroom was fairly big seeing that it can house all of the incoming students attending Beacon. But out of this whole entire room, there was a familiar scent that I picked up. I directed my attention to the recognizable smell and caught a raven hair girl on the corner of my eyes. It was the same girl that introduced the name Weiss Schnee to me. She was sitting alone and reading a book at the far side of the room, away from the rowdy students. I abruptly stopped and casted my full attention to the mysterious black hair girl.

Suddenly, Yang crashed behind me and we toppled onto the floor with a loud thud. While Yang had it lucky, I fell face flat onto the floor. Groaning, I lifted myself off the ground. Once again, a few nosey students were staring at us as we were causing an abnormal ruckus, further increasing our notorious reputation. I was slightly in daze when I glanced back at the faunus girl.

Silver met amber eyes.

She looked up from her book as she was curious about the commotion happening around her. Picking Yang's heavy body off of me, I decided to be sociable for a change. The secretive faunus shifted her eyes back to her book, attempting to ignore me while I strode to her. By the time I sat down next to her, she was still examining her book. I couldn't tell if she was deeply engrossed with the story, or if she just didn't want to talk to me.

I coughed to get her attention. "Aren't you the girl from the courtyard this morning?" I asked, trying to start a conversation.

"And aren't you that girl that exploded?" She commented as her eyes never left her book. I groaned and held my hand in my face, feeling embarrassed. It was official. My nickname will probably forever be crater face to everyone. Somewhere nearby, I heard Yang snickering as she overheard our conversation.

"Yeah... I have a knack for exploding," I nervously rubbed the back of my neck. The conversation went downhill as another brief silence crept up. "So, my name's Ruby!" I finally broke the awkward silence, trying to somehow revive what was almost lost.

"Blake." She cut it nice and short. If Glynda, Winter, and Blake tried to have a chat, I would bet Crescent Rose that their conversation would die quicker than someone who shaved Yang's entire head off.

"Yang," my sister randomly chimed in, raising her hand in the air waving. To my disappointment, she didn't entirely join in our conversation. She was talking to a few random students, being the social butterfly that she was.

"So why the bow?" I whispered to her, making sure no one was eavesdropping our conversation.

"You should already know why."

I nodded in response. It was obvious that some people didn't take our race too kindly. She was doing a better job avoiding conflict than I was. While I was more out there with my faunus features, she was more conservative. Blake adjusted herself to get a more comfortable position from leaning against the wall too long. Her book shifted, allowing me to quickly glimpse at the book she was reading. 'A Man With Two Souls'. Now that was something worth my attention.

"Hey, um. Blake? Do you think you can tell me what's that book about. I always wanted to read it." I half lied. I wasn't interested in reading, I was interested whether or not it had clues about why I was suddenly in this world.

Startled that I had an interest for reading, she finally took her eyes off her book. "It's about a man with two souls, each one trying to fight for control for his body," she answered. I thought long and hard about it. Maybe I robbed the owner of her body when we were battling for control. Maybe I unconsciously won and took over her body. But guesses were guesses as there were no concrete evidence to prove my assumptions.

My eyes turned away from her and towards the two students not too far in front of me. It was Jaune and Weiss. And if I were to take a lucky guess, vomit boy was going for zero out of three.

"You shouldn't really socialize with the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company," Blake noticed my glances at the two students.

"Why?" I asked, tilting my head. Not all Schnees were bad, at least Winter wasn't. We may have start off on the wrong foot, but we made it possible after a week of forced bonding time. Perhaps Weiss was just like her sister, except more opinionated towards Faunus.

"They're infamous for using Faunus as their labor force and questionable business partners."

"Perhaps you're right about her," I got up and smoothed my dress, getting the wrinkles out. "But I wouldn't completely know without actually knowing her first. Besides, there are Faunus out there that also used controversial labor." I shot her a weak smile and turned my back against her.

I still had that gruesome scar on my shoulder from the incident. It wasn't a scar that I regretted, or a reminder of my wrong actions. It was more of a reminder of who I still was. Even if I may never go back to the world I once considered home, it doesn't mean I have to lose who I was originally.

"Hey Jaune, third time the charm?" I teased, barging into their unsuccessful conversation they were having. Jaune was flustered as I caught on to what he was doing, while Weiss's eyes widen as she recognized my face from this morning. To be fair, I'm pretty sure everyone now recognized who I was after Glynda put us on blast.

"YOU!" The white heiress shrieked, pointing at me. Once again, I had to cover my poor wolf ears. People doesn't seem to understand how sensitive Faunus's ears are. "You're lucky we didn't blow off to the side of the cliff!"

Wow, she was still holding a grudge at me for that. On the bright side, at least she remembered me even if it was for the wrong reason.

"Yeah..." I drifted off. Alright Ruby, initiating plan A, getting on her good side. "I think we started on the wrong foot." I extended my hand out for her to shake. "I'm Ruby Rose, nice to meet you."

"You may already have heard earlier, but just in case your ears didn't pick up, Weiss Schnee." She refused to take my hand as her arms were still crossed. Awkwardly, I pulled my hand back, sliding it against my hair.

Wow, this friendship was crashing and burning really fast.

"Umm, okay. Nice to meet you Weiss. I hope we can be good friends in the future." I mustered up the biggest smile I could.

She scoffed at my comment. "I rather not be friends with someone this clumsy." She turned around and walked away, strutting with her head held high.

And there goes one potential friend down the drain.


	9. Initiation Part 1

_I thought it would be easy to travel in an unknown world as a 10 year old kid. I mean, I already had the experience back in my own world. What difference would it make?_

 _But, I was dead wrong. Extremely dead wrong._

 _This world was different compared to mine. Not all monsters attacked on sight. As a matter of fact, some attacked when they were provoked. But here? Grimms were aggressive. They attacked once they sniff you out. They were ruthless and wouldn't stop until one party was dead. And to make matters worse, I was lost in a grimm infested forest._

 _Nothing but the clothes on my body and an armful of burnt scrap metals, I had to carefully run and hide amongst the thick bushes. Right now, my next destination was to go to a nearby town. But if I were to guess right, there wouldn't be a nearby town for awhile. Why? Because it wouldn't be fucking smart to put a secret warehouse near a town._

 _I was lucky to retain all my memories from my own world. I was able to use my past experience to think logically, to improve my chances of survival. Without it, I probably would've used my semblance to book the hell out of the forest. And if I did so happened to use my semblance, that would had been the biggest mistake I ever made in my life._

 _Semblance drained aura quickly. Mine wasn't fully developed, so it expended more aura than normal. It was too risky to use up all my aura to make a few miles trek just to find out that there was no town close by. In fact, I probably would have collapsed from exhaustion, making myself an easy meal for grimms._

 _I stood on top of a branch of a tree, scouting what lied ahead. Thick trees ran for miles and I couldn't see a single civilization out here. The sun was beginning to set, meaning I had to find shelter quick. Even though my Faunus's eyes allowed me to see in the dark, I didn't know how active grimm were during the night. It would be way too suicidal to advance forward without any analysis on my enemies._

 _Sliding down the tree bark, I picked up the burnt scraps and marched to find shelter, marking the first day I was alone in this world as Ruby Rose._

"Ruby."

"Ruby."

"Wake up!"

Four fingers invaded my face as they tried to forcefully peel my eyes open. I smacked the hand away in hopes that it would leave, but it came back ten times worse. Two fingers were shoved in my nose and a hand over my mouth. Now if I didn't know any better, I would have called this an attempt of murder. But I did knew better. I knew the smell, and I knew who else in the world would do something this gross as to shove two fingers into the pits of diseases.

Yang.

Hostile eyes shot wide open and glared at Yang, who was smiling back at me. She released me from her treasure hunting, allowing fresh air to circulate back into my body again.

"Sorry sis, but if we want breakfast then you have to wake up," she beamed, not caring what just happened a few minutes ago. "Now let's go!"

Yang took both arms and hauled me from the floor. I groaned in response and reluctantly got up before Yang harassed me more than I needed. After cleaning myself up in the bathroom, I trudged through the hallways alongside my sister to Beacon's cafeteria.

"Wow, there are a lot of people here," Yang whistled. And indeed, there was a lot of people having breakfast. The amount of people in one room surpassed the total number of people in my guild. My guild was a lot smaller in comparison to other people's guild. But numbers never mattered to me. I chose quality over quantity.

"Come on Yang. Let's get something to eat and go," I muttered.

"Yikes, what got you worked up in the morning?"

"You did."

After breakfast, we headed towards the locker room in preparation for initiation. From what I can see, Jaune unconsciously made a one out of four in his scorebook. He was chatting with Weiss and with a gladiator red hair girl in a ponytail. It was obvious that he was trying to flirt his way back into Weiss's heart.

"Hey Rubes. Now that I think of it, what weapon do you use?" Yang asked, equipping her same old gauntlets that I remembered.

I opened my locker and attached Crescent Rose to my holder. "The same weapon that Uncle..." I paused trying to remember what his name was.

"Qrow," my sister helped me finished. "You're swinging a scythe around?"

"Yep, something like that."

There wasn't a need to tell her about the additional modification on my weapon. I wanted to keep it a secret, because it was an ace card. The less people that knew about it, the better. Though I had to admit, using a scythe was much different than swinging a normal sword around. It was much harder to keep under control. A few years of bruises and blisters, I was able to get the hang of it.

"Come on sis, let's get a head start to the initiation site." Yang threw her arm around my shoulder, dragging me along.

We passed by the aisle of lockers and I noticed that Jaune was still persistent. He definitely got the red hair girl hooked to whatever he was saying, but Weiss on the other hand, was a tough fish. Rolling my eyes, a smile quirked up as I continued to observed Jaune's attempts.

It reminded me of the contest that the females held in my guild. Most of the females in my guild constantly badgered me about how flirting was a survival thing that every women needed. So to teach me, they held a playful game of 'flirt and get into the leader's pants'. The winner gets to brag about how they deflowered the Sword Angel, while I learned how to flirt from the professionals. To them, it was a win-win situation. However to their dismay, I played hard to get. Correction, impossible to get.

We walked pass the group and hiked towards the hill, meeting Ozpin and Glynda at the top.

"Your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin informed. "Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path. The first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years. Your goal is to retrieve the relics at the ancient temple. Good luck."

Destroy everything in my path? Ozpin and I would get along so well. We could probably be Team Collateral Damage. Ignoring Jaune's series of questions, I crouched down in position and flattened my ears, preparing to be launched. I wasn't worried about initiation, it was the complete opposite. I knew how things worked, because Beacon Academy functioned similarly to a guild. Leaders invited impressive individuals, tested them, and if they passed, they were part of the guild. However, trials were different for every guild. It ranged from collecting rare items, slaying ferocious beasts, paying a large fee, or going through a brutal evaluation test by the members directly.

And me?

I scouted people personally. No deathly trails, no monster dispatching, nothing.

Ozpin launched every student individually into the dense forest. Soaring through the air, I unfurled Crescent Rose and executed the landing strategy I was best at.

Destruction of property.

I bulldozed the trees with my scythe to slow my momentum and rolled to break my fall. Brushing the leaves off my dress, I bolted deeper into the forest. Then lady luck did something I would never expected her to do. She was prancing on top of a table, half naked and drunk, while throwing gallons of luck in the air. Why?

Because guess who's stuck with me for the next four years in Beacon.

Weiss Fucking Schnee.

* * *

Silver met cerulean eyes.

"No," she said straightforwardly. "I refuse to be your partner." She was definitely worse than Winter. At least Winter didn't reject me to be her partner for our missions. Then again, Ironwood suggested the idea, and knowing Winter, she couldn't refuse her superior.

"Too late, princess. You're stuck with me for four looong years." I emphasized the 'o' to tease her. I smirked and grabbed her wrist before she could escape. If Winter was here, I would borrow her friendship bracelet. Maybe then Weiss would be my best friend.

"You mongrel! Unhand me this instance!" She shrieked. Her heels dug into the ground to stop me from dragging her across the forest.

"Mongrel? Wow, way to bring in the insults." I held my hands up defensively. "Lucky for you, you're stuck with this 'mongrel' for four years." I pointed my thumb on my chest and gave her a condescending smile.

Ozpin wouldn't let her switch partners. If Weiss did somehow got him to make the switch, people would describe Ozpin as a pushover. And the headmaster of a famous academy could not be seen as a pushover. The heiress huffed at my remark and angrily marched ahead of me while I followed behind.

It took me awhile to figure out that Weiss and I were lost as we explored through the forest for the temple. And what gave it away? She was extremely hesitant on the directions we were taking. I mean, of course the trial wasn't supposed to be easy. We weren't suppose to know the location of the temple, the purpose was to find it ourselves. But when I meant she was extremely hesitant, I really meant she forgot where we first started and was indecisive in which direction to travel to.

She may or may not be worse than Penny.

"So Weiss," I said, sprawled on the floor with hands behind my head and my tail nicely wrapped around my waist. "Where are we going?"

"That way! No wait, it's definitely this way!" She pointed at a bunch of paths.

"Do you even know where we're going?" I huffed, shutting my eyes to feel the grass gently brushing against my ears

"I would like to see you try and lead. In fact, I don't see you putting your fair share of effort to find what we're looking for.

I opened my eyes and let it wandered to Weiss. She was scowling with her arms folded. "If you want me to lead, then we play by my rules," I said nonchalantly. I slowly got up from my position and ran a hand through my hair.

It had been awhile since I last led a group or a partner through something. When I was with Winter, she took charge because it was her mission, not any of my business. I only assisted her by giving her my valued opinions and suggestions. "Well? Any objections?"

I could almost see a vein popping on Weiss's head through her pale skin. "And what are your rules?" Her foot rapidly tapped on the grass.

"Follow my lead," I dryly said as I walked closer to her.

"What? That doesn't even make any-" I pressed my finger onto her lips to silence her complaints. Her body stiffened from the close proximity.

"There are grimm surrounding us as we speak, so I hope you know how to fight," I whispered as I unhooked Crescent Rose from my holder and unfurled it. Her cerulean eyes stretched widely when my large garden tool extended to its rightful length. Weiss fumbled to grasp her rapier on the side of her waist, waiting for the grimm to appear from the thick bushes. My ears twitched to the sound of the grimm's soft growls and the small footsteps they took.

"Weiss, pierce through at twelve o' clock."

"What? You expect me to stab a bush? Tha-"

"What happened to playing by my rules?" I interrupted her, playfully gaping my mouth open.

She clenched her jaw in disdain and formed light blue glyphs underneath her. Her glyphs increased her speed as she dashed forward to my ordered direction. While she advanced forward, trail of roses fluttered in the wind as I followed behind her. In a single smooth flick, painful cries echoed in the forest as Weiss's rapier pierced through a grimm hiding in the bush. A handful of beowolves took note of the screeching howl, and unleashed their furry as they took off to pounce on the heiress.

"Duck!" I yelled out. The white hair girl promptly ducked in accordance to my command. I whirled my scythe in a circular fashion, mauling down the handful of beowolves targeting her.

"Split up!" I ordered.

I fired a bullet at a charging ursa, skidding back from the recoil and injuring the grimm in the process. Rotating my weapon, I cleaved a few stray beowolves while keeping an eye on Weiss. It wasn't that I didn't trust her that she couldn't keep herself safe.

No, it was another old habit that I developed whenever I took charge in combat.

It allowed me to visualize the battle unfolding and allowed me to make quick adjustments when things went south. To my surprise, the heiress wasn't exactly a damsel in distress. She was having an easy time dismembering the grimms on her side of the field. She fought elegantly in a dance like fashion. Her body swayed smoothly, following the notion of her rapier as it gracefully puncture the grimm to it disintegrated. It was captivating.

It was beautiful.

An enraged noise caught our attention from our finished grimm slaughter. Turning my head to the source of the animal-like sound, I noticed it was the same ursa that I shot previously. A few howls came from its mouth, sounding like a plea for reinforcement. Following the outcry, another ursa appeared behind the injured one and let out strong bellow.

I planted Crescent Rose's shaft into the grass and arched my back with my hands, stretching. "So Weiss, which ursa do you want?" I grinned at her, unrolling the kinks in my body.

"Both of them," she sneered. The revolving chambers in her dust rapier rotated and settled on the blue indicator with a loud click. With her glyphs, she sprinted towards the two grimm and unleashed a wall of ice, encasing both ursas. She placed her multi-dust rapier back onto her waist, dusted her hands, and smiled at her work of art.

"You know Weiss, that's cool and all." I complimented at her elegant display of fighting. "But you never finished your work." It was true, both grimm were still trapped in her block of ice. They weren't exactly dead yet. With a smile on my face, I loosened my weapon from the floor and flashed towards the two frozen grimm, severing them in half as blocks of ice shattered all over the floor. Weiss rewarded my actions with a scoff, jerking her head to the side.

"How unnecessary," she responded.

"I can't let your dust go to waste you know," I smirked back. She knew I was right. Why waste expensive dust just to trap them? Might as well end its life.

The heiress directed an eye roll back at me. "Now where's the temple oh great leader?" She mocked. I tilted my head towards the sky and noticed something familiar soaring around in circles like a vulture.

"Hey Weiss, do you trust me?"


	10. Initiation Part 2

"RUBY ROSE, I WILL NEVER TRUST YOU ANYMORE!" Weiss screeched at the top of her lungs as we rode on the bottom of the nevermore. It had been awhile since I last rode a monster. But never in my life did I expected that riding a nevermore would be so... Exhilarating.

If I could, I probably would do it more often.

"Cheer up Princess!" I laughed as my tail excessively wagged back and forth from the adrenaline pumping through my veins. "When do you ever get to ride a nevermore?"

"When we get down, I will mutilate you!" Weiss threatened, clutching onto the feathers for her dear life.

"Good news! You can turn me into a rug soon, because the temple is over there!" I hollered over to her, pointing to the tiny structure way down below us. "Okay Weiss, do you trust me?"

"No I do not! We have already established this!"

"Too bad, you gotta jump! See you on solid ground!" I gave her a two finger salute and leaped off the nevermore. The air rushed to my face as I fell straight down with my arms securely attached to the side of my hips. Slight pains erupted in my ear as tides of wind howled in it. Squinting my eyes below, I searched through the area to safely fire my ammo for proper landing. Before I could attempt my landing strategy, a strong impact rammed me on the side of my body and we collided onto a tree. A cloud of daze whirled in my head, making my sight unsteady. But I could still kind of make out the fuzzy figure hanging upside down from the tree and apologetically waving.

"Hey Ruby." His arms dangled uncomfortably, letting the blood rush to the tip of his fingers and to the top of his head. "You think you can help me get down from here?" He somewhat pleaded.

"Hey Jaune. Maybe you should hang around a little longer?" I chuckled and rubbed the side of my body where Jaune collided against. I could feel the bruise forming on the side of my body. Whoever or whatever threw him really wanted him gone. I breathed slow and hard through my nose to bring myself back. My ears wiggled to the familiar horrified voices in the background. They were trying to distinguish the person idiotic enough to ride a monstrous beast and then started gasping that 'she was going to fall.' I glanced up and watched a white blob hastily descend from the sky.

Well, I did tell her she needed to jump...

Clumsily standing on my two feet, I grasped Jaune's shirt and tugged him down, unhooking him from the tree's grip. He fell down with a surprised yelp and managed a 'thank you'. With my semblance, I bolted in a swarm of rose petals to seize the falling girl. My arms curled around her waist and I twisted my body, protecting her from crashing entirely below. My body skidded against the floor and overturned the grassy meadow to mud and dirt.

"See. You can trust me," I painfully chuckled as Weiss awkwardly pressed her body onto mine. Secretly, I was enjoying the warmth of her curved figure with my arms snuggling around her body.

"A Schnee always keeps her words," she said with a face devoid of emotions. She gripped my collar and rattled me, banging my head against the floor.

"Ack- Wei- Stop! This isn't how you mutilate someone!" I yelped in pain, trying to break free from her grasps. The back of my head pounded against the ground while my eyes admired the angry heiress at such close proximity. Even when she was angry, she still looked good. However, having my head thumped against the floor wasn't the best position to marvel her. I gently pushed her to break free from her violent reign of terror.

"Hmph. Serves you right," she snorted, trying to hold back her smug smile.

Letting my true nature get the best of me, I whipped out my lady finger and held it up for her to see its vulgar splendor. She was taken aback by my crude gesture and she furiously stomped off, muttering incomprehensible words. Enduring the dull pulsating pain residing in my head, I followed behind Weiss to meet up with the rest of the students.

"Hey Rubes!" My blond sister threw her arm around me. "Guess you got partnered up with Ice Queen here." Weiss scoffed at her nicknamed and proceeded to retrieve one of the relics.

"Yeah, our friendship is quite... Nifty," I said, and glanced to the person next to Yang. "Hey Blake, I guess you're stuck with my sister for four years. Sorry about that." Yang whacked me on the shoulder, pretending to be offended by my statement.

"Beats having Weiss for four years," she chuckled. Blake laughing? That was something new. Even in our conversation that we held, I could barely get her to talk or let alone crack the corner of her lips.

"It's not that bad once you warm up to her," I shrugged. On the positive side, I wasn't a stuttering mess like the first time I met Weiss.

"Can we stop talking about me and get a move on already?" Weiss joined our conversation. "We have the relic already, so let's -"

An unusual roar reverberated deep from the forest, collecting everyone's attention.

"Look Ren! It's death stalker! Let's break its legs!" An orange hair girl squealed excitedly, pointing to the grimm scorpion rampaging through the trees. The death stalker was pursuing the red hair gladiator right on her tail. It was swinging its pincers wildly left and right, but only to be dodged by the girl's quick reflexes.

"Nora, I don't think that would be a good idea." The black hair boy spoke up. Another shrill screech resounded from above, reminding everyone that there was still a nevermore circling around the temple. My eyes scattered between the two grimms and I tried to analyze the situation in hand. It wasn't the nevermore I was worried about, it was the death stalker that might be a challenge.

"Yang, do you think you can break the death stalker's plated armor?" I asked. I haven't seen Yang in combat for many years. In other words, I haven't seen how strong she was or if she fought in any way different.

"If I get beat senselessly and activated my semblance, then maybe." She shrugged at my question. Yang getting her ass handed was the last thing I needed. Of course, I can pierce its armor if I switched to my dust blade, however, I already used my last batch of dust.

That means there was only one thing to do.

"Okay guys we're retreating," I bluntly stated.

"Run and live, that's something I can do." Jaune joined the group with a relic in hand. "Pyrrha! We're heading back to the cliffs!"

As everyone was on board with the idea, we sprinted through the forest with the two grimms pursuing from behind. Once we reached the cliff, we rushed across the stoned bridge. Before we could make our way through, the nevermore dive-bombed and destroyed a portion of the overpass. Cobblestones crumbled away as the foundation of the structure became unstable. Pyhrra gripped Jaune's shirt and hurled him to a safer zone. Stone bricks collapsed as the students retreated away to escape from falling into the ravine. However, one student was not lucky as the nevermore caught her by surprise.

As she fell down from the bridge, she activated her semblance to catch her footing. Before she could regroup with the rest of us, the nevermore fired piercing feathers like a harpoon. The grimm circled below, guarding the distance that lied between us. It was strategically draining the girl's aura as she tried to evade the grimm's onslaught with her glyphs. At this rate, she will run out of stamina before she could make it back to us.

"Yang! Blake!" I called out. "Distract it." Clacking sounds and the smell of gunpowder fired down onto the monstrous avian. Unloaded magazines grazed its feathers, proving useless to draw its attention away from Weiss.

Okay, desperate times called for desperate measures.

I unfolded my weapon into her scythe form and dived down into the ravine.

"RUBY!" I heard my sister's voice yell out from behind. "BLAKE, LET GO OF ME!"

"It's suicide if you jump down!"

Their voices drowned out from the howling wind as I plunged further down. Unleashing a number of bullets to build my momentum, I swung my scythe against the back of the nevermore and left a gash on its body. I quickly hopped off its rear as the nevermore collided onto the walls of the canyon. The metal blade of my scythe grappled onto the cliff walls to secure myself from plummeting to my death.

"Weiss!" I shouted across the chasm. "Get out of here!"

It wasn't safe for Weiss to stay down here anymore. From the look on her face, it didn't seem she could hold her glyphs for too long. She depleted nearly all her aura to fend off the grimm's tactical attacks. The nevermore shook its head, recovering from its stupor. It extended out its wings and emitted a loud bellow as its claws pushed off from the steep rock walls. Its red eyes scoured through the ravine, looking for its next target of attack. Red beastly glares held onto mine as I hugged close to the cliff walls, holding onto Crescent Rose extended shaft with my foot supporting against the walls.

Oh fuck, I'm a sitting duck.

I slightly loosened Crescent Rose from the rocks and angled myself for a counterattack. All of a sudden, someone plunged down and lodge their weapon onto the avian's back. Witnessing it tumble further down, my eyes squinted below to the white clothed individual hanging onto the nevermore's back with her rapier as her only source of stability. The grimm screeched in pain and violently thrashed in hopes to dislodge the toothpick size weapon. With one shaky deep breath, I activated my semblance and flew towards the thrashing bird. I raised my reaper blade high above my shoulders and slashed down on the nevermore's wing, joining Weiss for the wild ride.

"You know, when I said get out of here it doesn't mean die with me," I frowned at heiress.

"I refuse to let you be my sacrifice in my place," she annoyingly growled, letting her pride get the best of her.

"Well aren't you sweet and caring."

The grimm perched against the cliff walls to recover from its third surprised attack. It lifted itself off, but failed to ascend due to the amount of damage it sustained. Together, we crashed further down into the ravine.

"Whatever you do Weiss, don't let go!" I shouted at her, grabbing a fist full of feathers.

"Why would I even let go you dunce!" She screamed back.

The nevermore slowly plummeted down with its damaged wing. It smashed and scraped the walls of the canyon like a cat trying to get out of water. However, climbing back up proved to be an impossible challenge as the walls were steeper and slipperier the further we traveled down. Its body tumbled in the air, and soon with a loud sickening thud, the grimm crashed down onto the flat surface of the earth. Groaning from the amount of head trauma that occurred in a single day, I slid down from the creature and rubbed my face.

"You okay Weiss?" I questioned, trying to massage my temples from the swirling sensation.

"Never better," she replied with a groan as she slid back down next to me.

A very faint screeching softly crossed the nevermore's mouth. I snapped myself back from the spiraling sensation and remembered that there was still a living and breathing grimm right next to us.

"Hey Weiss?"

"What Ruby?" she sighed long and hard. She was pinching the bridge of her nose to recover the senses that she lost.

"Would you want to ride the nevermore back up if it made a fully recovery?"

"Absolutely not."

"I thought so."

I shakily stood up and placed the blade of Crescent Rose onto the neck of the grimm. With a click, the recoil of my scythe guillotined the nevermore as the blade cleanly severed through its throat. Black particles drifted into the air as the grimm reduced into pieces until it turned into nothing. I settled back down next to Weiss with my knees curled against my chest. I rested my cheeks against my knee caps and watched the heiress as she tried to unravel the situation we were stuck in. "So, what are you thinking?" I asked, trying to get in her head. I relaxed down with my back pressed against the floor and stared at the open sky that was lightly covered with fog.

There was many options to get back up but none of them were safe. We could climb our way up with our weapons as our hook, but Weiss obviously wouldn't like that. We could probably walk to the top, but who knows how long that will take. Maybe Beacon will send an airship to our rescue, but we don't know how long that would take and what inhabited the bottom of the ravine. If only Weiss wasn't stuck down here with me, I probably would have let the nevermore live and ride it back up.

"I don't get how are you so calm about this!" Weiss dramatically raised her voice. Her hands ran through her forehead to her silky platinum hair. From a single glance, I could tell she was stressing and panicking.

"Experience," I blandly answered. It wasn't on purpose that I got myself in these sort of predicaments, and it wasn't like I enjoyed it. For some reason, problems just like hounding me down. Maybe it's because I used up all my luck from partnering with Weiss.

"If only I hadn't trusted you to ride the nevermore in the first place!"

"Hey, I told you to get out of there. It wasn't my fault that you decided not listen to me," I said with a tone of annoyance. I turned my head to avert her icy glare.

"It was your single minded leading that got us stuck in this dilemma in the first place!"

My body angrily jerked back to face her and my unfiltered mouth slipped."And it was my single minded leading that saved your scrawny ass just moments ago!" If we were going to play this way, fine.

I don't mind bringing out the big bad wolf.

"Who said I needed your help in the first place!" She yelled, her voicing echoing through the canyon.

"For fuck sakes Weiss. I saw you running low on your aura. I saw you running out of stamina. It was written all over your bitchy face! You think I was going to let you fucking die down there? Well, think again Princess. I don't leave people behind to die," I shouted back at her.

Before Weiss could snap back at me, a roar echoed somewhere in the desolated valley. I tried tracing the direction of the sound, but it was no use. The sound resonated against the rock walls, making it difficult to detect. I ran a frustrated hand over my hair, trying to calm myself down. "We need to leave Weiss. We need to leave now." It was too dangerous to stay here any longer and yelling would make it worse as the grimm would track us down. We needed to find shelter or find something. This wasn't about completing initiation, it was about surviving.

"Fine. But this time, I lead." She crossed her arm and refused to meet my eyes.

"Fine. Lead the way, your majesty." I gestured my arms in a mocking bow. Before I followed Weiss, I extended Crescent Rose and left a scar on the wall, marking a symbol.

"What's that suppose to be? Your bad drawing?" She jeered, eyeing the arrow that I carved on the rocks.

"Just in case they send a rescue team down for us. That way they know which route we took." I arched my eyebrow, hoping she could make a decent comeback from that logical statement. But I was blessed with disappointment instead. She rapidly blinked in disbelief and huffed as she turned around, walking through the valley path. I held in my snicker as she couldn't come up with any rebuttal. After trudging through the path for a few hours, we managed to find a cave somewhere at the bottom of the valley.

"This will do Weiss, the sun is setting and its dangerous for you to travel since you don't have night vision."

Normally I didn't travel during the night. But after my a few years of traveling, I got use to it and started to woman up against the creatures of the night. Weiss didn't respond and sat down against the cave walls. Minuscule streams of wind blew by, meaning there was another opening on the other side. Typically, it would be best to travel and see what was down there, but who knew how deep it ran. And leaving Weiss here alone wasn't the best option either.

I sat next to her and let the silence hang in the air. Cold drafts filled the cavern, sending shivers down our body. I glanced at the prideful girl and noted that she was biting her lips as she was holding back her shivers. With an internal sigh, I scooted next to her and draped my cloak over her cold body. She accepted my gesture without putting up a fight. Even though we had our sudden dispute a few hours ago, I didn't really understand why I still liked her. It was more than just her pretty face. There was something about her that I couldn't exactly place my finger on.

My heart thumped loudly as my shoulder brushed onto hers. She was so damn close to me that I was sure that she could feel the vibration of my heartbeat. Hell, I was sure that it was loud enough that Yang could probably track us all the way down from the cliff. My fingers rapidly tapped onto the floor and I closed my eyes to think about something other than Weiss.

"I'm sorry." A soft mumble voiced into my ears.

My eyelids fluttered open and I turned my head to the heiress in awe. Weiss Schnee, apologizing? That was peculiar.

"What for?" I angled my head curiously. My ears flapped against my head like a confused puppy.

"Saying that I didn't need your help and blamed you when you only meant to save me," she answered with her downcast eyes hung low to the floor.

"It's okay," I whispered. My actions were quite impulsive as I relied more on my natural ability from experience. "I'm sorry for having such a... Um, foul mouth. And I'm really sorry that I called your face bitchy. It was uncalled for."

"It's common," she stated frankly.

Really? Not beautiful? Not gorgeous? Not sexy? But bitchy? I mean, I wasn't the one to talk but at least that was what mostly filled my mind all the time.

"Then they have a weird definition of bitchy." I chuckled, scratching my cheek with my finger. She should be getting more compliments than insults with her looks. And if looks could kill, the Sword Angel would be finally rolling in her grave right about now. Weiss cocked her head in confusion from my comment.

"Ah it's nothing," I waved my hand dismissively. "So um - Why Beacon?" I started fidgeting the ends of my cape.

"Simple, I prefer Beacon over Atlas." She breathed onto her hands and rubbed them together.

It was definitely more complicated than that. It wasn't a simple choice to choose one academy over the other. It required more thinking. It was similar to comparing two guilds together. It wasn't just preference, there were also facts to weigh and considerations to take in. But I didn't want to probe her any further than necessary.

"So even the resident of Atlas thinks it's also a shitty place," I joked. I took a quick glance out the cave, only to see the sun still setting.

"You've been to Atlas?" Weiss suddenly asked, seeming very interested in our topic.

"Yeah, very briefly. Your people are quite... Welcoming," I scornfully mocked. I flinched once I realized what I had just said. "Ah- I mean them, not you. You're nice and like-"

Weiss raised her hand to interrupt me from my ramblings before I dug my hole further. "I get it Ruby," she nodded understandingly.

"This is nice how we're not arguing."

"I suppose it is."

"We should keep it like this," I smiled playfully and nudged her shoulders with mine.

"Don't push your luck, but your suggestion is duly noted."

Then a clear notable roar howled in the valley, sounding very close within our vicinity. Weiss and I looked at each other with worried eyes. I fumbled back onto my feet and prepared to unravel Crescent Rose from my holder. Walking cautiously towards the cave entrance, I poked my head out to investigate what was out there.

"Oh fuck," I swallowed.

"Ruby Rose, can you please stop cursing."

"Uh, sorry. Habit. But you're not gonna like this. There's an uh- Elder death stalker that will knock our front door step any minute," I nervously laughed. I heard Weiss get up from behind and stood next to me.

"Oh..."

"Yeah, oh..." I said with a mocking tone. "Well, we either go out with a bang or let it barge into our safe haven." I walked out of the cave and extended Crescent Rose to her majestic scythe form. "Are you coming to help?" I looked over my shoulder at Weiss as I slung my giant garden tool over my shoulder. Without a word, she followed behind me. The death stalker stormed in front of us once aware of our presence. Its eight legs trampled the hard dried floor, creating a cloud of dust behind its trail.

"How much of your aura have you recovered?" I asked, positioning into my battle stance.

"About half." She replied back, gripping her rapier on her waist.

"Am I leading or are you leading?"

"We made this clear earlier, Ruby. I said I was going to lead." Weiss's eyes were focused on the death stalker as she drew her weapon from her side.

"Aye-aye captain," I whimsically saluted.

"You think you can cut the legs?" She questioned.

"Can I?" I retorted amusingly

"You dolt! Can you?!" she shot a glare at me.

"I really don't know. I can try, but I don't know how tough the exoskeleton is considering how old it is." I gave her an honest shrug.

She rolled her eyes at my uncertainty. "Fine, let's try it at least and we'll go from there." Summoning a glyph under her feet, she flashed towards the scorpion grimm to take it head on. I fluttered in the wind behind her, keeping a watchful eye as I observed her every move. With a quick stab, Weiss's rapier pierced the floor and a column of ice partially encased the death stalker.

Taking my chance, I swung my weapon straight ahead to sever the four legs. My blade shattered the ice and left a cut on its first leg, but was unable to slice through. The scorpion roared in pain and dangerously flailed itself around. Weiss and I dashed back to evade its frenzy. I tilted up to the sky and saw it was slowly getting darker. The mist in the surrounding area wasn't doing it justice either. This wasn't good. At this rate, we were going to be at a severe disadvantage.

Then an absurd idea popped in my head.

"Weiss, how much dust do you have?" I looked at her.

"Which one?" She inspected the chambers of her rapier as she rotated it.

"Blue and red."

"Half each," she answered.

"Okay good, now give them both to me." I stuck my palm out like a little girl getting candy. Two dust crystals were placed gently on my hand while my other free hand searched through my pouch for an empty cartridge.

I didn't want to resort to this method, but there was no choice. Weiss had two purified dust crystals which will emit a bigger and powerful explosion. Never in my life have I used extremely high quality dust because the repercussions were quite large. Sure my dust blade can emit a one sided explosion, but I also get caught up in the blast if I were to swing it around near me. It was like a fiery pressure slapped against my face except my aura protected me most of the time, depending on how much I have originally.

I switched Crescent Rose to her other modification, unraveling to its glorious blade. Weiss skeptically observed my actions as I shoved the cartridge into the slot.

"Ruby... What are you doing," she asked with concern.

"Remember the time we first met and we exploded?" I shifted the lever.

"How can I forget about that you dunce!" She quickly went back to her old self again.

"Well, pretend that grimm was you except I'm using these two bad babies instead!" I gave her a reassuring smile, being as positive as I could be.

"Ruby, that's suicidal..." she whispered quietly.

"I'll be fine Weiss. After all, I am a dolt or a dunce or whatever you call it. Just make sure to cover your ears and keep a safe distance."

Weiss never stopped me, as a matter of fact, she couldn't. It was the one method that was quick to beat sundown and gave us a chance to live the next day. If not, then it gave her a chance to live the next day. Dying in a battle was something I can totally live with. Readying my blade, I burst in a wave of rose petals.

With one swing of my blade, I set off the biggest explosion in my record book.


	11. The Talk

_It was day five._

 _Still trapped in the grimm infested forest, I was looking for food. Fruits, herbs, roaming animals, hell I'll even eat any dead carcasses. What I needed was food. I haven't eaten for two days and I was getting tired. Tired of walking. Tired of starving. Tired of hiding. Tired of keeping an open in my sleep._

 _Tired of everything._

 _I wasn't sure how far off I was from town or if I went to the correct direction. It seemed like the forest went on forever like a never ending journey. But I didn't have it entirely bad. No, I made a fire and molded the scraps into a small scalpel. It wasn't the worst weapon I used, but it was definitely better than going into the forest bare._

 _I knew my small scalpel couldn't pierce any grimm armor, but I knew I can at least take down one beowolf. I tested it myself, and it was no doubt suicidal. It took me forever just to kill that one meagerly lone grimm. It wasn't the best battle results I had earned, but it did prove that I was still a fighter._ _I ended up with scratches from that fight, but it wasn't dire. A few scrapes colored my skin, but it was nothing major that needed attentive medical care. I was lucky that my aura healed most of it, giving me a chance to live another day._

 _But I wondered._

 _Will I even make it alive the next day?_

Short beeping.

That was what I heard first. It was constant, annoying, and high pitched. Then there were soft murmurs. They were unrecognizable, frequent, and unclear. Next was the odd smell. The scent didn't seem familiar as it was slightly metallic with a hint of medicinal aroma. Lastly was the blinding lights that shined through my shut eyelids. They were bright and annoying, but also reassured me that I survived. Awoken from my unconsciousness, I brought an arm to my eyes and groaned really loudly. There were sharp pains scattered all over my body and I felt a bit nauseated. A commotion of shuffling and small gasps swamped the atmosphere about how 'she was awake' and 'to notify them'.

"Miss Rose."

I removed my forearm from my eyes and slowly opened it. Flashing white lights gleamed down upon me, making difficult to distinguish the white blur that stood next to me. I rubbed my eyes, ignoring the pain flaring in my body, and tried to regain back my sight.

"Where am I?" I croaked. My lips and throat were dehydrated from who knows how long I was out for. Small screeching noises slightly resonated in my ears as my eardrum experienced a bit of trauma from the loud exposure. A woman wearing a white coat stood poise next to me. By the way the stethoscope dangled over her neck, she appeared to be some kind of doctor.

"You're in the infirmary," she answered. "You should count yourself lucky that we found you and your partner down the ravine."

Silver eyes wandered around once they recovered from its hazy status. A bunch of empty electric bed lied neatly in the room with dark purple curtains separately dividing each bed. The woman was right, I was in an infirmary. I inhaled a deep breath and mustered up the courage to look down at my own body. My corset was partly singed as black burn marks smudged my attire. I rested my head back onto my pillow and let out a loud relief. Convincing Ironwood to find me fire proof garbs was the best decision in my life. My eyes traveled down my arms and noticed the slight blemishes on my hands with minor blisters forming. I suppose I should count myself lucky that my aura was nearly full and protected me from scorching my hands off.

"Miss Rose, I would like to inform you that your teammate is here to see you," the doctor informed.

Teammate?

"Oh, thank you Dr. Um..."

"Retter." She walked off to open the door, allowing the visitor in.

"Ruby!" Yang ran from the door entrance and embraced me with her strong arms.

"Yaang," I coughed. "It hurts... A lot."

"Miss Xiao-Long."

"Sorry doc." My sister rubbed her head with a weak smile.

"Please try not to overwhelm my patient more than necessary. I will inform headmaster Ozpin about your awakening, Miss Rose."

I nodded to the doctor and turned my attention to Yang. She sat next to me on a chair that she just pulled up and examined my injured body with her lilac eyes.

"I thought I almost lost you again," she whispered softly. She tenderly brushed her hand against my arm and I winced from the pains. "I didn't know what you were thinking, jumping down the cliff." To be exact, I wasn't really thinking. I just did what my body told me to do. If my body said jump off the cliff, then I would probably jump off the cliff.

"I'm sorry Yang."

Weiss was right in away. I was single minded as I was too concentrated on completing the work myself. It had been too long since I relied on other people. I could've depended on Yang and Blake for a better solution. Then maybe I wouldn't have to be sitting on this hospital bed.

"It's alright. I'm glad to have you back sis." My sister patted the top of my head and lightly touched my hair.

Hair?

I was surprised that I even had hair considering the explosion I made. I figured it would singe off every piece of it.

"Um Yang, I have a serious question."

"Shoot."

"How does my hair and face look?" I hadn't look at the mirror yet. I thought my face and hair would be the first to reap the consequences. Though in the final moment, I did raised my arm to protect as much as I could.

"Graceful as ever." A cold, sarcastic voice entered the infirmary room.

"Hi Weiss!" I chirped, staring at the white figure with a Faunus hot on her heels. "Hi Blake! Jeez, I must be special since I'm getting so many visitors today."

"Hey Ruby," Blake greeted. "How are you feeling."

"Graceful as ever," I copied. Yang snickered next to me, but Weiss wasn't liking my lighthearted mocks. "I'm feeling okay. Some pains, but nothing I can't handle. But seriously, do I still look the same?"

"Yep! Same old little puppy face," Yang ruffled my hair. A breath of relief escaped from my mouth. I really dodged a bullet there.

"Ah!" I uttered out, recalling something. "I'm sorry Weiss. I'm sorry that we failed our initiation." I looked at Weiss but she returned a confused expression instead.

"What are you talking about? We passed." Her folded arms relaxed to the side of her hips.

"Huh?"

"She's right, Miss Rose. You passed the initiation," Ozpin interrupted. He slowly walked into the room with his cane acting as his support. "You and your partner have retrieved the relic."

"Wait, how did we get out in the first place?" My eyebrows creased in bewilderment. There was no way Weiss could carry me and Crescent Rose to the top of the cliffs with her dainty noodle arms.

"We heard an explosion and we immediately informed the headmaster," Blake explained. "Then he ordered a rescue airship to be sent down into the ravine."

"Huh, what do you know." I paused and looked at Weiss. "I guess me being a walking disaster turned out to be good." I grinned at her, but she avoided my eyes as she turned to face the other way with a disbelieving huff.

"Blake Belladona, Yang Xiao-Long, Ruby Rose, and Weiss Schnee. The four of you have secured the white knight pieces from the temple. From today and forever, you will work together as Team RWBY led by Ruby Rose," the headmaster declared.

"Huh?"

"WHAT!" Weiss shouted aghastly. I guess Weiss really didn't want me to be team leader. She was gritting her teeth, flaring her nostrils, and clenching her hands. Saying that she was furious would be an understatement.

"Oh um, thanks?" I wasn't really surprised that Ozpin dubbed me leader. Even if he didn't know, I was probably the best candidate considering I have many decades of experience.

"I'm so proud of you Rubes!" Yang pulled me closer into a hug, suffocating me with her 'gifts.'

"Ahem," the doctor cleared her throat. She caught Yang red handed in the act of almost murdering her patient. "What did I say earlier Miss Xiao-Long." Yang promptly pulled away with her hands and raised in air as if a burglar pointed a gun at her. She nervously smiled back and mouthed a 'help me' at me.

I smiled and simply rolled my eyes back at her. "Hey Dr. Retter, when can I leave the infirmary?" I tried changing the topic to save Yang's ass.

"Tomorrow. For now, I will prescribe you ointment for your burns. Make sure not to overexert yourself." She answered as she searched through her medicine cabinet, rummaging for my said medicine. Yang mouthed a 'thank you' back at me and I nodded.

"Then I will be taking my leave," Ozpin spoke up. "Good day to you Team RWBY. Class will begin tomorrow morning." The headmaster waved his cane in the air, bidding a short farewell as he walked out of the infirmary.

"Here you go Miss Rose." The doctor handed me the tube of ointment. "Apply it few hours and with your aura, you should be healed soon. But I am afraid there will be scars. Now if you excuse me, I have other matters to attend to. And please do not destroy my office while I am away." The doctor left, closing the door behind her.

Weiss pinched her the bridge of her nose, trying to swallow the announcement Ozpin recently told us. On the other hand, Blake smiled down at me, happily accepting that Ozpin appointed me the leader. I bet she was delighted to have a faunus lead rather than Weiss, considering her animosity towards the Schnee family.

A sudden spasm of coughs departed from my mouth, surprising the girls. "Do you think one of you can get me water?" I croaked. My throat was parched when I woke up, and talking only made it worse. Without a word, Yang got up from her seat as she took her sisterly responsibility quite seriously. She delivered a cup of refreshing water as I drank it to quench my thirst.

"Thanks Yang."

"Well, this is nice and all... But I want to read my books," Blake said in her monotone voice. "I'll see you tomorrow Ruby." She waved her hand as she exited out the infirmary. Yang's eyes glistened wickedly as a devious plan hatched in her head.

"I'm going to join Blake. I'll see you tomorrow sis!" Yang waved her hands in the air and winked.

Oh I am so going to kill her.

She left me alone with the heiress knowing full well of my one sided crush. There were four possibilities that will happen with Weiss and I in a room alone. One, she will murder me and Yang will never ever find my dead body. Two, a highly unlikely peaceful conversation. Three, we bicker. Four, a really hot and steamy but unlikely make out session.

I glanced at Weiss and she had a face that I knew full well of.

"Okay Weiss, lay it out on me."

Now it was her turn to explode. It wasn't the physical fiery combustion that I was well accustomed to. It was a mouth full of hot air, rants, and complaints.

"How can an animal like you be our leader?! The team should have been led by me, not some degenerate," she seethed. "I've trained and studied. And quite frankly, I deserve better. To put it up-front, Ozpin made a mistake. He shouldn't have let you lead the team."

Ouch. Faunus insults right off the bat. She really wasn't holding back.

I hummed to her derogatory speech. The best option wasn't to blow up and fight back with fire. It would probably be counterproductive if I stood on her level. "Then what do you think are traits that defines a leader?" I questioned her calmly.

"A leader should act mature, not like a child like you. They should be diligent along with exceptional skill on the battlefield. They should be practical and logical," the heiress went off.

"Is that it?"

"A gist of it." She briefly smiled for a second, proud of her explanation.

"Wow Weiss. I'm quite disappointed in you," I said sharply. Her lips dropped down, returning to her serious, hard expression. "Those are very simple minded descriptions of what a leader should be." Weiss fumed over my commentary. She probably believed I had no idea what I was talking about seeing that I was only a leader for less than an hour. From her description, it sounded like she was judging me based from our initiation. In my opinion, I didn't think it went that bad. It was just her poor attitude that hindered the positives.

"And how would you define a leader?" she flicked her eyes down at me with a hand on her hip, leaning on one leg.

"A leader doesn't necessary need to be exceptionally gifted in a battlefield, it's just a bonus."

"Well, that's-"

"Ah-bah-bah-bah," I interrupted as I held a finger up. "I'm not done yet. They need to constantly shoulder their teammate's burdens along with theirs. Not only that, but they also must selflessly put their teammates first before their own, and that includes their life. It's true that they should be practical and logical, but they also need to be quick minded. It's not their life on the line that they have to worry about, it's their team. A leader must must be confident and have a strong mind because they are the foundation of the team. If the leader falls, then the team will also falter."

Weiss's mouth slightly gaped open from long winded explanation. She seemed dumbfounded that I had a better understanding than she did. In that moment, the heiress grudgingly bit her lips as she seemed to be grounded deep into her thoughts. Her frustration dissipated and turned into something else.

"So if that's what you believe a leader should be, then I don't think Ozpin made a mistake." I continued, giving her a weak smile. "I think he just saved a girl from shouldering all the burdens and responsibilities that she couldn't handle." Being a leader wasn't all fun and games. It wasn't a title to sprinkle onto one's name either. It was a tattoo that you take to your burial place as a constant reminder.

"Is that why I Ozpin didn't choose me?" she asked hurtfully. "Because I was too weak to be a leader? That I can't handle responsibilities? That I can't handle burdens?" Weiss situated herself onto the chair where Yang previously sat. I stared acutely at her downcast blue eyes. There was something more to the heiress that no one knew except for me. Her eyes told a short, bitter soliloquy that she locked away behind her strong facade. It told me her uncertainty while her voice articulated how fragile she was.

"You are far from weak," I grasped her hand and my face softened. "You slaughter grimms for a living, you rode a nevermore, and you even risked your own safety to save me. Weiss Schnee, you are far from being weak. But even the strong have a weakness. That's why Ozpin assigned us in teams, so our teammates can fill in that hole. I'm sure you can handle some responsibility and some burdens, but perhaps Ozpin thinks you're more fit in something that none of us can do."

"Sounds like I'm a failure to me," her melodic voice sounded disbelieving. Then I laughed, and she looked at me with a scowl. "Are you laughing because I'll never reach perfection?"

"Sorry Weiss," I apologized as I released my hand from hers. "If you're searching for perfection, then you should count yourself lucky that you're not the leader. Being a team leader carries more haunting failures than noble deeds."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Because one overlooked judgment can cost someone's life," I said in melancholy. "If someone close to you died because of your silly mistake, how much guilt can you bear without it eating you alive?"

Her mouth opened to say something, but she immediately closed it. Her icy blue eyes averted away from mine as she tried to crop up an answer. But it never came to her. She sat there silently, once again, lost in her train of thought. I tilted my head to look in her eyes, and I saw hesitation.

"I think you should be happy that you can't answer that question," I smiled comfortingly. Her cerulean eyes flicked up and met mine as her face looked at me incredulously.

"Why is that?" she asked earnestly.

"It means you didn't make that mistake, and I hope you'll never be the one to experience it." The heiress twiddled her thumbs on her lap, letting my comment sink into her head. The hesitation from her eyes disappeared as it changed into something different.

"Sounds like you're speaking as if you lived through it," she muttered. Her perception was spot on. I probably made more mistakes than Ozpin had ever in his life. If I was placed on a perfection spectrum, I would be on the opposite side of it. Sure, I had power and fame. But what good is that if I made a careless error. What good is that if I had to witness people die because of my faults.

There are many things you don't know about me Weiss.

"I just have a lot of things going up here," I replied as I gently knocked on my head.

"I-I guess I was wrong about you," she mumbled under her breath.

"Huh?"

"N-Nothing!" She stammered. Her cheeks were slightly tinted pink, but I continued to look at her cluelessly.

"I know I probably won't reach your expectation of the most perfect leader, but I hope you have a little faith in me."

"I suppose you can make a fine leader Ruby," she sighed admittingly.

"Thanks Weiss," I smiled appreciatively.

"Just so you're aware, I'll be the best teammate you'll ever have," she brilliantly smiled. Rapid thumps beat my chest and my mouth was left dry. My silver orbs were enthralled to the way her lips perked. It was my first time seeing Weiss genuinely smile, and it was so fucking captivating. I had to fight the impulse from capturing her beautiful lips at that very moment.

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly. Her heartwarming smile completely shattered as it was replaced with a frown.

"Y-Yeah! Just speechless that's all," I attempted to laugh. I stealthily pinched myself to stop myself from looking like a love-struck puppy. My eyes turned away, searching for anything other than her lips. When I looked around the infirmary, I noticed something was missing. "Where's Crescent Rose?"

"Your disastrous sword?"

"GAH!" I shrieked. Weiss flinched to my sudden outcry. It had escaped my mind that Weiss already saw its self destructive power. "Can you not tell anyone about that?" I pleaded with my ears unconsciously flattening on my head.

"Why?" She skeptically asked.

"Let's put it this way. If I knew that Jaune's partner- Um what's her name?"

"Pyrrha," Weiss rolled her eyes as me. "How have you not heard or know about Pyrrha?"

"Well, I didn't know you were a Schnee. But anyways..." I trailed, bringing us back to topic. "If I knew Pyrrha's semblance but she didn't know mine, who do you think would have an advantage?"

"I'm sure Pyrrha will still wipe the floor with you even if she didn't know about your semblance."

"Weiss, humor me."

She sighed as a response. "Obviously you, but I don't get where you're going with this."

"The less people that know, the better. I'll have an advantage," I answered simply. Using dust at close combat was extremely risky. I generally use small amounts of dust so the repercussion wouldn't be as severe. But if Yang were to see me swinging an exploding sword around, I was definitely sure that she would force me to dismantle it and modify it to be less... Harmful and more childproof.

"If it makes you feel any better, Professor Goodwitch personally came down to rescue us and she retrieved your oh so secretive weapon. It's in your locker as we speak."

"Ah that's a relief," I exhaled. Glynda already saw my weapon's capabilities during our criminal chase. I wasn't exactly worried with her knowing about it again.

"Our teammates are bound to figure out that you're swinging a catastrophic sword around," Weiss stated as a matter of fact.

"It's not a sword. It's blade," I corrected her. "Yang doesn't even know how much excessive cursing I do anyways. So right now, you pretty much know a little bit more than she does."

Weiss's eyes widen and her lips curled into a smirk. "So your sister isn't aware that you swear like a trooper? Sounds like blackmail material."

"Nice try, but like you said, they are bound to know sooner or later." I smiled, unfazed by her attempts. She clicked her tongue in disappointment. Never in my life would I think that the beautiful white haired heiress would be such a cunning person to even try to blackmail her own partner.

"I think we had enough conversing for today." Weiss gracefully rose from her seat. "The leader can't be dawdle in the infirmary forever." She walked out from the room and closed the door behind her. I leaned back into the bed and happily sighed.

The friendship between Weiss and I was blossoming quite beautifully.


	12. The Scars We Hide

My hands healed quite nicely.

The blisters were gone, but there were still slight pain. Discolored patches of skin marked the back of my hands to remind me of my absurdity. They remained as unsightly scars for everyone on Remnant to judge me for, however, I didn't look at it that way. I saw it as scars that I earned from saving Weiss. As for the rest of my body, my aura cured most of my aches that stretched all over. My attire was slightly charred but hardly noticeable because of its original back and red colors.

I finally got out of infirmary room and headed towards the assigned dorm rooms. My eyes shifted from door to door, looking for a metal sign that said 'RWBY'. Once I found the room, I swiped my scroll to enter. Entering the said room, my mouth gaped open as I was dumbfounded at the abomination I was looking at.

"Hey Rubes! Like the new bunk beds?" Yang popped her head from the bathroom. At one side of the room, two beds stacked on top of each other with books holding between it. Despite abundant wisdom I held, I couldn't even comprehend how a few flimsy books managed to hold the beds together without it slipping. The other side of the room was worse beyond imagination. A bed hung from the ceiling like chandeliers except braided ropes held it from falling. It was a tragedy begging to happen.

"Um.. Yang? Which one is my bed?" I nervously asked.

Please don't be the one underneath the hanging bed. Please don't be the one underneath the hanging bed. Please don't be the one underneath the hanging bed. Please don't be the one underneath the hanging bed.

"Oh, it's the hanging bed!" Yang gleefully hollered from the bathroom.

"YEESS!" I cheered loudly as my knees kissed the ground and my hands rejoiced in the air. I thanked all the gods and to lady luck that I didn't have a deathtrap hanging over my body every night.

"Wow sis, I knew you'd like the bunk beds!"

"Yeaah... I do," I managed a chuckle. "So um, out of curiosity... Who's the bed underneath me?"

"That would be me," Weiss grumbled as she came out from the closets filled with clothes.

"Gee Weiss, you got the best spot!" I feigned a smile. I secretly prayed that my bed wouldn't collapse on the poor girl. Though if that did happen at some point, then I can probably admit my feelings saying that I fell for her. Literally and figuratively.

"Yeah right," she sourly muttered under her breath. She entered the bathroom when Yang came out.

"Oh by the way Rubes, your school uniform is right here." From the closet, Yang took out a black blazer with a plaid skirt to go along with it.

"We have to wear uniforms?" My face wrinkled as I examined the outfit.

"Yeah! Every school has to wear uniforms. Even Signal Academy..." Yang's sentence trailed off awkwardly. I never had the chance to attend some kind of school in Remnant. The White Fang took me away before I even had the opportunity. So Beacon Academy was probably my first school. Hell, it was probably the first school I had ever attended since I never bothered to attend school back in my world. I found magic school quite useless. I prefer throwing people into a den of monsters to learn rather than sitting behind an old wooden desk.

"Sorry..." Yang looked down and kicked her feet. Leaning against her bed's headboard, Blake looked up from book, curious about our conversation.

"It's okay," I shrugged indifferently. I never knew what school was like, so I wasn't extremely fazed by it. Yang slipped the uniform into my arms and I knocked on the bathroom door. "Weiss, hurry up. I have to get ready too you know."

"I'm currently preoccupied." An annoyed voice sounded through the door. I huffed at her response. Might as well change out here I suppose. I began stripping down my corset, down to my lingerie I had on.

"Okay, you can use the ba-" Coming out from the bathroom, Weiss immediately covered her eyes as I appeared to look indecent. "Ruby Rose, please have a bit of modesty and put your clothes on."

"Nice timing Weiss," I muttered, feeling the burn growing on my face.

"Wait, don't put on your clothes yet Ruby." Yang narrowed her eyes, examining every inch of my body.

"Yang," Weiss hissed. "Why would you tell your own sister not to put clothes on?" The heiress's eyes were still closed as I was still loitering around in the middle of the room with barely anything on. Blake also shielded her eyes with her book to prevent herself from rudely staring.

"Umm Yang..." I squeaked.

"Ruby, where did you get all these scars?"

Oh, so that was why she told me not to put clothes on.

"Which one?" I asked. The Faunus and the heiress opened their eyes as they were curious to see the scars Yang had pointed out.

"What do you mean which one? How did you get all of them?" Yang voice was angry but yet sad. Many scars scattered across my body, ranging from a variety of sizes. Some went from my back, my chest, my stomach, and a few on my upper arm.

"Take your pick because each one probably has a story," I snorted. It was true. I accumulated scars along the way during those five years. I probably got a new scar every month.

Yang hesitantly glanced at my body, carefully choosing a story for me to tell. "How about this one," she whispered. Her hands brushed against my shoulder where gruesome scar laid five years ago. The same scar where the White Fang dug his dagger at.

"White Fang," I answered dryly. Yang clenched her teeth as her fist trembled.

"Why?"

I directed my attention to raven hair girl's soft voice. She had a solemn look on her face as she examined my flawed skin on my shoulder. "They wanted me to join their organization and I refused," I grimly laughed. "They wanted to recruit me so bad that they wouldn't take no as an answer. So this was the result." Blake shivered and brought her knees to her chest. She was silent and still as she seemed to be in deep thought.

"What an awful bunch of degenerates!" Weiss rasped.

"Gee thanks Weiss. I'm very well aware that I'm a degenerate to you," I rolled my eyes at her. I started to put clothes on before they further questioned me about the remaining scars.

"T-T-That's not what I meant!" she stuttered. "I'm saying the White Fang themselves are criminally insane and are a bunch of scums."

"They're a collection of misguided Faunus," Blake defended.

"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!" Weiss argued back. Yang shuffled around as she felt slightly out of place, conflicted to whether or not join the argument. "They're pure evil."

"You're so discriminatory! People like you is why the White Fang existed!" The raven hair Faunus fought back and I nodded understandingly.

"How can you agree with her?" Weiss pointed her finger at me. "You were a victim of the White Fang and you're also a Faunus!"

"That's why I can also agree with her, because I am a Faunus." I answered back. If everyone co-existed peacefully, the White Fang probably wouldn't have existed. "What got you so worked up?"

"Because I'm also a victim just like you are!" The white hair girl raised her voice. "From thieving to assassination, I had to experience every bit of it directly and indirectly. It's the White Fang's fault that made my life difficult. They're all bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers."

"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!"

We flinched and turned our heads to Blake. The Faunus froze like a deer in headlights. She had made a grave mistake, revealing an utmost secretive information about herself. Blake quickly slammed her book shut and tried scramble out of the room with her head held down, averting everyone gazes. Before she made it to the door, I quickly grasped her wrist and tugged her.

"Blake," I dauntingly whispered. My eyebrows pinched closer together, showing a mixture of pain, sadness, and disbelief. The Faunus looked at me with eyes full of fear as if the Schnee will purge the faunus for her own identity. No, not only the Schnee, but she also feared me.

"P-Please Ruby. Let go," Blake spoke almost like a whisper. "I-I-I can't be here anymore." She pulled harder and her grasp slipped out of mine. She threw the door opened and rushed out while I stood there overwhelmed about the new revelation. In my heart, I understood the White Fang's causes, but that doesn't necessarily meant I forgave them for what they did to me. To be honest, I didn't know what to think or how to feel about my teammate being one of those detested White Fangs.

"A White Fang under our noses the whole time," the heiress sneered. "I should've known. Come on, we have classes to attend."

Neither any one of us spoke as we walked to our first class. Not to my surprise, Blake never showed up to our grimm study class with Professor Port. I sat down next to Weiss while Yang sat a row behind us. After the heated discussion, I didn't know how Yang felt. Her partner was a member of the White Fang who was responsible for my disappearance. I wouldn't have a single clue what Yang would do once she sees Blake again. But there was one thing that I could read from her expression. She seemed just as conflicted as I am.

"Monsters! Demons!..." Professor Port went on. I immediately shut off the professor's rambling as I was too fixated on this morning's dispute. My cheek rested on my palm and I stared out at the window lifelessly. There were too many questions at the top of my mind that revolved around Blake. Like what should I do when I see her? Take revenge? Shout at her? Degrade her like how Weiss did earlier? Torture her like how her fellow White Fangs tortured me? I shook my head at the latter. I wasn't the type of person to do a merciless torture. It wasn't my nature.

I knew already from the beginning that I was going to take down as many White Fang members as I possibly can. A silent promise I made for myself for the pain I had to endure during those years. But what am I suppose to do with Blake? If I wanted to kill someone, I wasn't the type to hesitate. The years of fighting made me numb. I slid my palm that was resting on my cheek over to my temple and rubbed it. I wasn't going anywhere with this. At best, I was getting a bigger headache from thinking too much. I turned my head away from the window and jumped back into the professor's lecture.

"A true huntsman should be honorable! Dependable! Strategic, well educated, and wise!" Professor Port enthusiastically exclaimed.

I buried my face into my arms that was sprawled on the table and uttered a groan. The professor basically laid out an obvious description of what every person should be. If a person simply couldn't follow such traits then they weren't going to survive. If a person can't be dependable, then their team will get mauled. If the person was not strategically thinking wisely, then their team will get mauled. If the person was not well educated, they most definitely their team will get mauled. If not their team, then most likely themselves.

Maybe I should be up there teaching instead.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

"I do sir!"

I tilted my head to the voice right next to me. Weiss was raising her hand with a face full of determination.

"Then let's find out! Come child and face your opponent!"

The professor stood next to what seemed to be an crate encaging an animal. I caught a pair of red eyes glowing from the darkness within the cage and a low growl. Weiss stepped down the stairs and readied her rapier in front of the rattling metal box containing the grimm beast. With one swing, Port released the caged bound grimm with his axe and a wild boarbotusk rampaged out of its crate, rolling at an incredible speed. I observed Weiss as she get tossed around like a salad. One delicious salad I might add. She played defensively, uselessly deflecting every charge the grimm threw at her. At this rate, Weiss was about to get mauled by the grimm.

"Weiss! Aim for the belly!" I shouted at her.

"Stop telling me what to do!" She turned and face me, ignoring the grimm's presence. Taking its chance, the boarbotusk spun rapidly and knocked her rapier from her hands. My face crinkled and I decided to shut my mouth. In a quick motion, Weiss swiped her hand in the air and summoned her glyphs. Unable to stop its tracks, the grimm crashed into the glyph and an large icicle impaled right through its stomach.

"Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress-in-training!" Port proclaimed. "Assigned reading is already on the board, class dismissed!" From my seat, I rushed towards Weiss as she proceeded to quickly exit the classroom. I grabbed her shoulders to catch her attention.

"Hey Weiss," I began. "I'm sorry for distracting you like."

"You think?" Her voice was slightly harsh

"I just wanted to help that's all," I frowned.

"If you wanted to help, then you should start paying in class more."

I opened my mouth retort back but quickly closed it. "Right..." I trailed off. She was correct about me not paying attention in class, but there was an obvious good reason. Figuring out what to do with Blake was much more important that listening to Port's long winded achievements.

"Hmph, of course I'm right." I watched Weiss turned her back to me and left as she walked further down the school's corridor. My back pressed against the wall and I slid down to the floor, depressed. Today wasn't really a good day.

"Something on your mind?"

I bobbed my head up and down, nodding. There was a lot of things on my mind. Most of it was Blake, a part of it was my sister, and now Weiss wanted to add her share into it.

"It's like one problem after another, Professor Ozpin." I sighed heavily and leaned my head against the wall, looking up at the headmaster.

"That's how it is Ruby. It's never easy being a team leader. It is a badge you wear constantly," he smiled.

"Yeah, I'm well aware. But for this problem, I just- I don't know. I don't know what to do. I'm conflicted at the moment."

"Then I advise you to take some time and carefully think about it. After all, you've been burdened with a daunting responsibility. The choices you make will affect those around you, especially your team." I closed my eyes and meditated on his words. It was practically the same speech I gave to Weiss except less in depth. "Think about how you will uphold your responsibilities. Have a good day, Ruby." I heard Ozpin's cane thumping on the hallway's floor as he walked off with his last advice.

From the floor, I slowly got up and strode back to the dorm and stood in the front of the door. My hands paused at the knob, slightly hesitating to turn it. With a deep breath, my hand grasped the handle and twisted it. As I entered the room, Weiss was sitting on her bed on her scroll while Yang was laying on top of her bed. However, Blake was still nowhere to be found.

"Hey guys?" Weiss and Yang directed their attention to me. "You guys trust me as a leader right?"

"I do," Yang spoke up.

"We had this talk already Ruby. Though there are some things that needs to be fixed," she muttered her last sentence.

"Good, then we're finding Blake." Both girls had a face of surprised when I mentioned Blake.

"Why are we trying to find that traitor," the heiress huffed. "A waste of time if you asked me."

"Yang?" I looked at my sister to see her take on it.

"I can't promise that I won't throw a few punches, but we haven't really heard her side of the story." Yang shrugged her shoulders.

"Then it's settled. Democracy rules that we find Blake!"

"I still refuse to find that spy," Weiss hissed. "You guys can go find her, but not me."

"Come on Weiss!"

"No is no Ruby."

I stood there staring at Weiss who was still going through her scroll. Even if I tried, there was probably no point in convincing her. If I issued a demanding order as a leader, she would probably see me as an oppressive tyrant.

"If you ever change your mind Weiss, I would deeply appreciate it if you helped us find Blake." The heiress never responded as she was deeply engrossed in her device, flicking her thumb up as her icy blue eyes trailed along it. I turned my head away from her to my sister. "It's best if we start looking, Yang." Yang jumped down from the top of her bed, landing with a series of popping joints from her knees. We both walked out the door to begin our search for the Faunus.

"Yang, you check the school and I'll check the perimeter. If we can't find her she's probably somewhere in Vale." My sister firmly nodded and took off to find Blake. Silently, I stood in the middle of the hallway and thought carefully, tapping my chin.

If I were Blake, where would I be? Somewhere secluded. If possible, probably ride the airship to get the hell out. But luckily, there was only one airship running today. So either she was able to hitch a ride to get to Vale, or she missed it. If she missed it, then she will probably be hiding and waiting for the next lift. So my best option to start would be somewhere near the bullhead bay area. I sauntered out of the school building to the outer edge of the cliff and looked around the landing pad. The area was completely devoid of any people and aerial vehicles. I inhaled deeply through my nose and noted a faint familiar scent lingering in the air.

I smiled.

Blake couldn't escape from me that easily.


	13. Another Chance

**See Author's Note Below**

* * *

Like a wolf I was, I followed the smell that trailed off to the side of the cliff. I ventured forward and crossed a small stream, continuously pursuing the recognizable scent. The further I wandered out from the school, the stronger the trace got. I took my time as I was in no rush. Blake couldn't escape if she wanted since I had her locked right under my nose.

I crouched closer to the floor and took a silent whiff. Blake was definitely nearby. Cautiously, I prowled behind the dense bushes, trying to find my target in sight. And there she was, leaning against the bark of a tree. Blake sat there with her knees hugged close to her chest. She was muttering something under her breath that my ears couldn't quite catch. Her lackluster amber eyes stared down at her shoes, unconsciously twiddling her thumbs. From my knees, I rose from the bushes to approach Blake. However, rustling leaves startled the Faunus from her trance-like state and she fumbled back onto her feet, taking a few strides back.

"Blake."

"Ruby."

As I took a few steps forward, the Faunus also took a few steps back. A heavy tension enveloped the air as she observed my every move with hostility.

"I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk," I assured. Blake's shoulders relaxed a tiny bit, but she still held her guard up. "Please Blake, I just want to talk." The Faunus never responded as she continued to stare at me with eyes of hesitation. My unwavering persistency continued as I tried to convince her. "Do it for me. Please?" Her tensed shoulder dropped back down and she let out a sigh. Blake sat back down to the tree and leaned back with her knees tucked to her chest again.

"For a quiet person, you have a good taste in secluded spots," I complimented as I sat beside her. Blake never responded, allowing a brief silence to capture the air. My eyes wandered around the small luscious forest, indulging in the beauty of nature. The sun peeped through the trees, bathing a few spots of grass with its rays of warmth, and the leaves fell naturally from its branches, swaying side to side in the air.

"Why are you here?" Her voice softly whispered.

"To talk," my lips curled into a reassuring smile.

"Even though I was affiliated with the White Fangs?"

"Yep," I popped the 'p'. A brief moment have passed and I opened my mouth again. "I certainly thought about it for awhile. When I asked myself what I would do when I see you, all I could've think about was revenge." Blake stiffened upon hearing an uncomforting word. She nervously shied herself away from me as I went on. "I mean, that's logical right? It was the White Fang's fault that went missing for five years." The raven hair girl eyes widen in a brief surprise. Her guilt consumed her as she attempted to tug her knees more than her body allowed her to with my past tragedy weighing heavily in her conscious mind.

"Five years...?"

"Yep, five long years."

"I'm so sorry Ruby," Blake solemnly said. "I'm sorry what they- no, what we had done to you. I-I never thought that -" I held my hand up to stop Blake from talking and continued on with my story.

"Then not too long ago, I met Ozpin and he invited me to attend Beacon. Later on, he appointed me as team leader." Then I looked back at Blake. "Do you know where I'm going with this?" Blake shook her head and kept silently quiet. "He reminded me what are the leader's responsibilities," I answered my own question. To think that I had to rely on Ozpin to recall what it truly means to be a leader. It was foolish of me to place my selfish desires first. It was foolish of me to forget the same words that I told Weiss. It was foolish of me to let Blake's grasp slip from mine. "Rather than carrying out my revenge, I'll carry your burdens."

My bright silver orbs looked at her, and the corner of my lips perked into a genuine smile. "I'm sure you came to Beacon bearing a baggage full of scars and secrets just like me. From the difficulties of being a Faunus, to the days you were in the White Fang, and even in the future, I'll shoulder them all for you Blake." The Faunus was taken aback with my honesty as she couldn't sense a single lie from our talk. Her lips quivered and she clamped her mouth with a hand.

"Why?" She whispered again.

I leaned my head back against the trunk with my eyes roaming to the sky of trees. "To put it simply, you're my teammate. But if you really want to know more, it's because I can't call myself a team leader if I'll be letting you down. It's my job to protect you, not to hurt you." My arms snaked over her shoulders comfortingly. "Hurting my own teammate is the last thing I ever want to do. I'll put away my resentment only for you, but I won't forgive the other White Fang members." I paused and my brows wrinkled. "You're still not in the White Fang are you?" I glanced over to her, dispelling the heartfelt conversation that we were having. Blake shook her head and I released a breath of relief that I didn't know I held.

"Thank you, but I think the others will have a harder time accepting me," Blake sighed.

"Weiss might be a tough one, but I think Yang will have the heart. I'm sure you'll be fine, I'll be here." I hoisted myself and held a hand out for her. "Come on lets go back. You already missed one day of class." Smiling, she took my hand and we made our way back to the dorms. By the time we reached to the airship bay, we noticed two figures idly waiting.

"Hey!" I waved my arms side to side. My ears and tail flopped around as I actively jumped to catch their attention. They both turned around and Yang waved back at me with a smile. However, Weiss looked like she had a stick up her ass. "Hey Weiss, what changed your mind?"

"Yang," she grumbled in a malice tone of voice. I looked at Yang for more details but she only mischievously grinned. I wonder what my sister do to convince Weiss. Maybe Yang did shove a stick up her ass to persuade her. Tension arise in the air as the heiress and my sister were glaring at the ex-White Fang member right next to me.

"Blake."

"Weiss."

"Blake."

"Yang."

Before the two girls could say anything, Blake opened her mouth first and began sputtering, "I'm sorry, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fangs. Back when -" The blond brawler held her hand up to stop Blake from babbling. I nervously gulped, hoping my sister wouldn't throw Blake off the cliff. Yang would definitely do something like that now that she's more protective of me than before.

With her hands on her hips, my sister squared up to the raven haired girl and kept her eyes glued to her. "If my sister can forgive you, then I can forgive you. But if you ever hurt a single hair on Ruby, then you better pray that she will be there to stop me." My tense shoulders relaxed back down, glad that it turned out to be a civilized conversation instead of a blood bath,

"Of course," Blake simply nodded and smiled. Then she looked at Weiss and her heartbeat picked up. She was nervous because the heiress kept silently to herself the whole time. Not to mention, the cold expression she always wore didn't do it justice either. "Weiss?"

The heiress leaned on one leg and looked her dead in the eye. "We may have accept you, but that doesn't necessarily mean you have my trust. If you want my trust, then you earn it." Now, trust worked in funny ways. Sometimes they were easy, or hard, to gain and definitely quick to lose. Eventually, I knew Blake could earn Weiss's trust one day. It may be tomorrow or it may take a few months.

Blake understandingly nodded with a wide grin on her face. It seemed like a heavy burden had been lifted off her shoulders, freeing her from the anxieties she carried. Seeing that Team RWBY didn't falter within 24 hours, I let out a happy sigh.

"We should celebrate! Team bonding!" I enthusiastically exclaimed, pumping my arm in the air.

"No, we're studying," Weiss deadpanned.

"What?" I was flabbergasted with an ajar mouth. "Who studies on the first day of school!"

"Us, since your attention span today have been inadequate. I do hope you'll join us soon Blake. After all, you missed the first day of class," Weiss said adamantly. "This includes you too Yang."

"Yeah yeah Ice Queen. How about you and Ruby get a head start. We'll catch up... Later," my sister suggested, trying to hide a sly smile. My eyebrows pinched together and I mouthed a 'what' to Yang as she practically threw me under the bus.

"Then I better see you at the library." Weiss took the back of my collar and dragged me back to the academy's main building. My ears wilted back and I started whimpering. I mouthed a 'help me' to Blake in hopes that she would come to my rescue, but my efforts were fruitless as she mouthed an apology back.

It was hopeless.

I have been forsaken by my sister and my teammate for study duty. On a positive note, I get to spend more time with Weiss. That was an incentive right? Oh who am I kidding, Weiss will be getting more than she bargained for. I'll probably be the shittiest student here. Never in my life have I studied, took proper notes, or have taken a written test. This will probably be embarrassing.

By the time we reached to the library, I sat down in a chair while the heiress sat across from me. She gracefully took out her book unlike me who grumblingly threw the book onto the table, slamming it open to a random page. My eyes flicked back up to Weiss as I watched her take out few pieces of paper, pencils, and pens. Silver orbs trailed back down to the grimm anatomy book, flipping to the correct assigned reading page.

I scanned through the page and mentally scoffed at the reading Port had assigned to us. He was making us study the body structure of a beowolf. My eyes skimmed around as I flipped through the remaining assigned pages in the textbook. Majority of the facts he wanted us to learn were about beowolves and ursas. A part of me felt like there was no point in reading today's homework. I already had my fair share of beowolves and ursas from that five years. Slowly, I closed the book and slouched back into my chair.

"What are you doing?" Weiss whispered. She stopped scribbling her notes and looked up.

"I think I'm done studying for today," I answered in defeat.

"Ruby Rose, we haven't even sat here for ten minutes." Her quiet voice was a bit harsher than usual.

"But Weiss, he's making us read about beowolves and ursas. I'll start studying when he assigns us about nevermores or something." I wasn't sure how much a textbook could inform me compared to my firsthand visual analysis. I had examined more than enough beowolves and ursas to the point that I could practically write a book about it.

"Then get a head start," she hissed.

Head start? What am I suppose to do? Read the whole damn book? I groaned loudly at the good student and earned a shush back from the scowling librarian. My cheek rested against my palm and I opened the book again. I mindlessly flickered through the pages, pretending to be doing something. If there was such thing, I would earn a gold medal for being the worst student ever.

"Ruby." Weiss spoke up, not taking her eyes from her book. "That's not studying."

"Can't you throw me into a pit of ursas and beowolves? I learn better like that," I pleaded. "Or even better, throw me into a pit of goliaths or something." Weiss raised an eyebrow at my ridiculous request. "Okay, maybe not goliaths but you get what I mean." Fighting a raging goliath that was several times bigger wasn't the smartest idea. I've seen one up close before, but I wasn't dumb enough to use my tiny scrapped sickle to tickle it.

"Here then study this," she sighed. I read the title of the vomit colored book that she slid across the table. _Dust for Dummies._

Wow.

"Thanks Weiss," I muttered in a sarcastic disdainful voice. "I appreciate your kind generosity." I grudgingly accepted the book and scanned over multiple pages of the table of content. My eyebrows furrowed to the amount of content that the book had.

What the fuck.

How can this be for dummies? The textual font was barely visible to the naked eye. There were long paragraphs with barely any breaks in between. Hardly any colorful pictures. Sophisticated vocabulary beyond my comprehension. Who the hell even made this book? I flipped back to the front cover and read the publisher.

 _Schnee Dust Company_.

I silently closed the book again as it was a forlorn attempt to understand the facts that the book offered. My head subtly tilted up to the snowy white haired heiress. Her piercing icy eyes browsed through the grimm study textbook as she jotted down notes. She had diagrams of a beowolf with organized details of its anatomy. I inspected closer at her outlines, turning my head as I tried to read her neat writing.

"Ruby," her voice sounded weary and her pencil stopped moving. My back stiffened as I was caught red handed. Long manicured nails tapped slowly against the polished wooden table as her frigid eyes left her book and met mine.

"Y-Yes Weiss?"

"You're a leader, so please act like one."

"But Weiss, this book is shi-," I coughed to mind my manners. "So long and hard to understand. How about this. I'll teach you about the grimm and you can teach me about dust."

"And what can you possibly teach me that the book can't?"

"That this is wrong," I pointed out to the mistake on her paper.

"Wha-"

"Yep."

"How?" She did a couple of double takes between the book and her notes. "But the book says-"

"Nope, the book is wrong. Here I'll show you." I scooted out of my chair back to sit right next to the heiress. Using her pencil, I started drawing the body structure of a beowolf. Comparing the two pictures, the physical structures were the same but muscles and organs were a bit different.

"And how can you prove that?" She skeptically looked at me.

"Next time we go out grimm hunting, I'll dissect you a beowolf."

"That's nonsense! You can't dissect a grimm!" The librarian immediately shushed the heiress, displeased about our boisterous voices blaring in the room. Weiss embarrassingly shrunk back into her seat and lowered her voice, "We all know they disappear after they die."

"Not if you dissect while they're still alive," I lightheartedly giggled. The platinum haired girl was appalled and looked at me in disgust. "What? You've never done that before?" The girl shook her head still horrified that I would even go far to put my life in jeopardy just to dissect a lowly grimm. "I guess I know what we're doing when we see a beowolf."

"Until I see hard evidence, I'm still using the book as a reference."

"Suit yourself," I shrugged at her. "Does that mean you're going to teach me about dust?"

Weiss rubbed the corner of her eyes and sighed. "I suppose it could prove beneficial for you. What do you know about dust?"

"That there's way too many colors," I snorted. Her eyebrows knitted and she flicked my forehead as punishment for my frivolous answer. I let out a small yelp and immediately cupped my mouth with my hand. My head tensely turned to the librarian who was seething at us. I nervously waved an apology at the older woman behind the table, and jerked my head to Weiss who had a shit-eating-grin. She was trying really hard to fight back her laughter.

Glad to know that my misfortunes brings her joy.

"Okay, umm... Oh I know! Combining two dust is definitely bad," I chuckled. A flash of memories played in my head of myself experimenting with dust. The amount of times I had exploded couldn't be count with both hands. Weiss buried her face into her hands, shaking in exasperation.

"How do you take your coffee," she mumbled.

"Pardon?"

"What would you like in your coffee?" She paraphrased.

"Uhh not sure? I guess cream and five sugars. Why?" I curiously asked.

"If I'm going to teach you about dust, then we're going to be here for awhile."

I grinned as the heiress stood from her chair and proceeded to grab two cups of coffee.

Maybe studying wasn't too bad.

* * *

 **I'm going to take a break from writing fan fiction for around a week. I do feel like I rushed bits and pieces of the story, but I guess i'm working on that. I have to admit, there are some parts about this whole story that I don't particularly like and wish could've done a better job at.**

 **Feedback would be great~**

 **I'll see you guys next chapter.**


	14. From Beast To Beauty

**I'm back! Sorry it took a bit. Turned out I unexpectedly had family over the week, then I ended up experiencing writer's block for the first time.**

* * *

"You look terrible," Yang bluntly criticized me with a stoic face. From bottom to top, her eyes trailed the lines of my body, judging my tousled outer appearance.

"Huh?" I blinked a few times, seeing if my ears heard my sister correctly. Well, I definitely heard her accurately. How can I not?

"We need to take you shopping. You can't keep wearing the same clothes every day."

"What? You guys wear the same clothes every day!"

"Yeah, but we actually have real people clothes. Also, these are combat outfits. We have many sets of these, while you still have the same old one," my sister shot back at me.

"I'll have you know that this is one-of-a-kind custom made," I retorted and placed my hands on my hips.

"I think you and snowflake have been hanging out too much. You sound just like her," the blonde playfully joked.

"Hey!"

Yang ignored the heiress's offended voice. "Team bonding time! We're taking the shaggy puppy shopping."

"Do we have to?" Blake asked monotonously. She was sitting on her bed with her face almost glued to her book. With a lick on her finger, she flipped to the next page.

"Yep," Yang popped the 'p'.

It had been a week since Beacon's initiation. Things had been going pleasantly smooth as no one was at each other's throat. Weiss had ceased her degrading insults towards Faunus, however, she was still not pleased about my academic habits. On the other hand, Blake was practically being Blake. She was fairly quiet majority of the time because she was often absorbed in her own little world. The ridiculous amount of books she brought to Beacon had begun to pile in the corner as she read through them quickly like a scanning machine. And between the two girls, they seemed to be getting along to some degree.

As for Yang... Well, she's Yang.

"I'm not that shaggy," I grumbled. My response earned a few disbelieving glances from my teammates. "What? I can clean myself up."

"Sure you can," Yang distrustfully rolled her eyes. "Let's go ladies, before we miss the bullhead. Chop Chop!" She clasped her hands together and dragged me out the door by my collar. The remaining two followed suit as they had nothing else better to do on a Friday afternoon.

"You do realize I barely have any lien right?" I directed my question to Yang. All four of us were seated in the bullhead, heading towards Vale. Trips between Beacon and Vale were free for students, so I didn't have to spare any money to hitch a ride.

"I got you covered. If I can't, then you can owe the Ice Queen."

"I am not your piggy bank," she chided. She never put the effort to face us as she continued to stare at Remnant's open sky through the wide transparent barrier called a window. At a specific angle, I could see the reflection of the blue eyed beauty and the plain expression across her face. Then at a certain point of time, a swift sound of clicking captured my attention. Yang was snapping her fingers across from me with a wide smirk plastered on her face.

"When we get to Vale, you might have to be our piggy bank. Ruby here has a lot of stuff she needs to buy. If anything, she can repay you back in the future."

I rolled my eyes at Yang. Living on the streets doesn't exactly bring a pay check back home with bread on the table. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to repay her back until far in the future. Unless she's willing to accept cuddles and hugs as another payment.

The heiress redirected her attention to me and gave a questioning look. "You didn't pack anything with you?" she asked.

"Well, if you look through my stuff you can see that I practically have nothing," I huffed.

"At least you have a toothbrush and toothpaste. That's something," Blake poked fun at me and earned a laugh from Yang.

"Thanks Blake for being on my side," I sarcastically said.

By the time we were at Vale, we were deciding on where to go. Well, not me at least. I couldn't remember much during my time here. It was basically Yang and Weiss trying to decipher places to go. Blake had no interest in shopping other than the bookstore. However, the book loving Faunus couldn't leave as Yang insisted that it was a team bonding exercise. If she wanted to go to the bookstore, then we all had to tag a long too. At that moment, Blake immediately changed her mind saying that she could always buy her novels next time. Her cheeks were slightly tinted pink and she seemed flustered.

How suspicious.

"So what exactly do you need?" Weiss asked me. The four of us were casually bypassing many uninteresting small stores.

"Everything," I dryly answered.

"Lingerie it is!" Yang sang.

"W-What?! But Yaaang," I whined. If I was shopping with just Yang, I wouldn't mind at all. But having Weiss and Blake here was a bit... Embarrassing. I didn't want them to know what kind of lingerie I was buying or what color I owned. That was an invasion of my privacy or something.

"How about you two go in and we wait here," Blake suggested, hoping that the blonde would agree.

"I concur with Blake," Weiss inserted her token of opinion.

"Nope, we're ALL going in!" Yang pushed us all into the store, ignoring our pleas.

The store was huge. A line of manikins stood in just woman's undergarments. Every garment had its own unique design and its own peculiar fashion. Each piece were either conservative or completely bizarre. The ones that were bizarre screamed out 'sexy' as they barely had any fabric to cover a woman's most important region. But the bizarre ones weren't the worse. There were undergarments that words cannot even describe.

"People actually wear these stuff?" I picked up the most scandalous women's underwear from the pile closest to me and showed it to Weiss.

"Ruby Rose!" The heiress shrieked, averting her eyes from the v-string. "Please put that indecent piece down."

"I don't think we should bring kids to these kinds of store," Blake commented teasingly as she watched Weiss and I squabble.

"Kids?" I placed my hand on my chest, blinking sardonically. "So does that mean you wear these kind of stuff?" I playfully wiggled my eyebrows at Blake and fired the scanty panty at her like a slingshot. Blake blushed intensely and scampered off to another section of the room.

Huh, she actually does.

I wonder if Weiss wore these kind of stuff. I glanced at the platinum haired girl and back at the lingerie bottom piece that I was holding. My imagination ran wild as I picture the heiress nothing but a thin piece of fabric covering her nudity. A deep scarlet color flushed my face as my fantasy grew more daring. I quickly put the garment down, and fanned myself, trying to extinguish the hot blush on my cheeks.

"Alright Rubes, what's your size?"

"Yaaang, really?" I looked at her incredulously. The worst part was that she was serious. I slumped my shoulders in defeat and dramatically threw my hands in the air. "I don't know!"

"Okay you definitely need help," my sister said. She took my hand and dragged me to one of the employees working in the store. After the worker wrapped her measuring tape around the plumps on my chest, Yang got to work and started throwing pieces of lingerie for me to try on. To end my misery, I tried on every bra and sports bra she threw at me, and took whatever seemed comfortable. I didn't care whether it was laced or not. I just didn't want to stay here any longer than necessary. Once we gathered all the necessities, Yang paid for everything and we immediately left the store.

"See that wasn't too bad," the blonde smiled. "Okay next on our list are clothes and feminine products... Like a brush. You really need to brush your hair sis."

"I second that," Weiss admitted. "For a lack of a better word, you look like a drowned lion."

"I didn't know it was pick-on-Ruby day," I pouted as my tail sagged and my ears fell back.

"She didn't call you shaggy at least," Blake chuckled.

"Wow Blake, I never seen you this humorous in one day."

"I have my moments," she shrugged at me with her lips curled.

We entered the next store located at the heart of Vale. Unlike the lingerie store, manikins were fully clothed as they flaunted their next clothing line. The clothing store had several floors as escalators zigzagged to the top of the building with bustling active shoppers.

"Here, use this." Yang shoved a brush in between my hands. "Hold on to it while you're at it."

I looked at the black hairbrush and shrugged. It had been awhile since I last combed my hair. Yang never exactly owned a hairbrush because of her unruly golden locks. Her hair would just rip the flimsy bristles from the brush, and I don't think Weiss or Blake would lend me theirs. The bristles ran through my scalps as I tried to tame my disoriented hair. While I was trying to untangle my hair, Yang started throwing clothes on me like a coat hanger.

"Why do I need this many clothes?"

"So when we go out to somewhere high end, you would have nice clothes to wear," Yang answered as she threw more clothes at me.

"And when will be I going somewhere high end?"

"Stop asking so many questions and try all of these on. Come out of the fitting room and we'll give you a yay or nay."

"Fine," I grumbled as I sauntered to the dressing room. Locking the door behind me, I looked at myself in the mirror. And wow. I do have to admit that I really do look disheveled. I continued to brush my shoulder length hair until I didn't look awfully sloppy, or in Weiss's terms, a drowned lion. I slipped on a few clothes and presented myself to my teammates.

"Wow," Yang whistled. "I guess you can clean yourself up."

"Told you." I spun around to give them a better look.

"Glad to see our leader looks a bit more presentable," Weiss eyed me up and down.

"Ladies?" Yang asked.

"Yay," the three said in unison.

After a few yays and nays, we left the store holding a handful of bags that were majority mine. It was all thanks to my teammate's generosity, though mainly Weiss's, that I can now live a more comfortable life style. As we strolled down the sidewalk, my head frantically twisted and turned at the spectacular beauty that Vale had to offer. The towering buildings, the smell of fresh baked goods, the busy crowd of people, everything seemed all so familiar. There was a warm feeling of home the more we walked around Vale, definitely warmer and fuzzier compared to Vacuo. It just seemed... Right.

Then boisterous shrilly laughters broke my stream of consciousness. My ears twitched and I jerked my head, facing the street on the opposite side from us. My feet stopped walking, and I stood passively as I caught a glimpse of a handful of children running around in the park. They chased after each other with insuppressible giggles, seeming so carefree.

"Rubes?"

A flame ignited in my chest filled with longing and sadness. If things didn't turned out the way it did, could I have that when I was a child? Would that been me if I didn't have those five years forcefully ripped away from my hands? But who would I be if fate were to take a different route? After all, it was those five years of hardship that broke me down and molded me back to something I thought I pushed away.

"Rubes," Yang placed a hand on my shoulder, snapping me from my thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine."

I tore my eyes away from the park to give my sister a feeble reassuring smile back. She had a face of worry, but her lilac eyes told a different tale. She knew. She could sense the distraught in my metallic eyes, but she didn't have the confidence to ask. "Come on Ruby. Let's go." She grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me along to Blake and Weiss who were patiently waiting with confused looks on their faces.

As we begun to walk, I could feel the dull aching pain burning in my temples. The more we walked, the stronger the pulsating throb got. My pace began to slow, and my breath became shallow. For some odd reason, my heart swelled in anger, and yet, it cried in distress. My left hand clutched the side of my head and my right hand held against the building exterior for support. My teeth chewed on my lips and I slammed my eyes shut.

I vaguely recognized the area.

"Ruby?"

I inattentively disregarded my sister's voice, and fluttered my eyes open. I took my own detour into the dark hidden alleyway, following the familiar gut feeling.

"Ruby!"

The resonating pain pounded in my head as I walked deeper into narrow passage. I could hear my companion's footstep behind me, but I was too focus on the uncertain anxiety that welled in my chest. It didn't take long for the passageway to open up into a bigger open space. Filled garbage cans sat disgustingly off to the side. Plastic bags and other foreign objects littered the floor, and colorful illegible graffiti marked the walls. A somber expression shadowed over my face as snippets of fragmented memories played like broken record player.

"Are you okay Ruby?" Blake uneasily asked.

I heedlessly didn't answer to her either. I forcibly dragged my feet to the center of the large secret backstreet, and stood at a particular spot. I closed my eyes, and shakily took a deep breath as my mind bravely replayed the scene over and over again. Nails unconsciously dug deep into my skin, drawing a trickle of blood from my ripped skin.

"Is something the matter?" This time, Weiss asked me.

After a brief moment, my eyelids slowly lifted itself from its heavy state. I continued to stare down at the dirty cemented floor, the same spot where I was brought to my knees before I was unconscious.

"Ruby," Yang tried again and firmly grasped my shoulder.

I took a sharp, quiet inhale as I snapped from my trance-like state.

"It's nothing," I shook my head. "Come on, let's go back to Beacon."


	15. Xiao Long Vs Rose

_It was day ten._

 _I suppose things were looking up for me. I haven't had any meat for awhile, but I found a nice temporary rest area that blossomed with fruits like the Garden of Eden. There was plenty of harvest to satisfy my hunger for a couple of more days. But I couldn't stay cooped up here too long, I have to keep moving on. The trees were thinning out which meant I must be coming close to a town._ _That, or perhaps at least, leaving this wretched forest. Though I have to admit, there was definitely a lot less grimm around the area. Perhaps Lady Luck was finally being sentimental and couldn't bear to watch a little girl suffer anymore._

 _I laughed at myself for having such foolish thought._

 _The day Lady Luck will stop pitying me would be the day I get to sleep on a nice warm bed in my actual home._

 _I sighed and sank my teeth into some type of fruit that I salvaged from a tree. It was sweet but somewhat grainy and dry. I didn't complain. It was editable and filled my stomach. Eating this was definitely better than licking a grimm._ _My body quivered at the horrifying memory and the agony I had to endure._

 _Yes, I tried to eat a damn breathing grimm._

 _I was fucking desperate._

 _Fortunately, I didn't even had the chance to take a bite of it. With just a tip of my tongue, the taste was already awful. And from that, my digestive organ churned as it couldn't stomach the aftertaste of the putrid black creature. I went through a series of killer stomach pains and vomits for period of time._

 _Honestly, it was probably the dumbest fucking idea I ever had._

 _I tossed the non editable portions of the fruit and sank my teeth into a different one. This fruit was definitely juicier than the last. I closed my eyes and chewed slowly, letting my mouth savor the welcoming taste. Who knows when will be the next time I will have something this good._

"Miss Rose, please pay attention in class." The green haired zipped in front of me, jittering from the absurd amount of coffee.

"Huh? Oh sorry, Professor —"

"That's doctor, Miss Rose!"

"Right, sorry Dr. Oobleck."

"The next time you zone out, I will not hesitate to give you detention! Moving on, homework is on the board. I expect you to complete it when you come in tomorrow for class. You are dismissed," Dr. Oobleck announced, and zoomed out of the classroom.

I stood from my chair and sighed. My metallic orbs were downcast as I properly tucked in the chair back. So far, two weeks have passed since initiation. And so far, history was definitely the subject I knew absolutely nothing in. I barely knew Remnants past or anything about it. If they asked me about my world's history, then I probably could needlessly blabber for many hours. But this technically wasn't the world that I knew well of. This was Remnant. Fifteen years of living here, and I still have no clue of its history other than the basics.

Man, having no school experience really did put me out of place from the rest of the student body.

"Hey Rubes, what's the long look?" Yang walked up to me.

"I suck at history," I admittedly muttered.

"Aww cheer up sis. I'm sure snowflake will help you," she pointed over her shoulder to Weiss. The heiress scoffed back as a response.

"I think Weiss has enough on her plate. You can't teach me?"

Yang laughed at my question. "I would love to, but I think you're better off asking Blake. Though you have to wait your turn because she needs to help me too. Isn't that right Blakey?"

Blake confusingly blinked at the blonde as she just joined the conversation. "Um... Sure?"

Ah poor Blake. She just unconsciously sold herself to tutor Yang for long hours.

"Okay, off to combat class!" Yang enthusiastically hurried us over.

Combat class was something I looked forward to during the week. Grimm studies I can somewhat handle, and history, not so much. But combat? Definitely something I can proudly hold my head high. We left the lecture hall, and made a beeline to the locker rooms. Then we changed into our combat gears and equipped our weapons. My team and I walked out to the arena, and sat at the top of the bleachers right next to Team JNPR. Once class have started, Professor Goodwitch chose students to spar with one another through a randomizer in her tablet. Jaune lucked out and had to spar with Cardin, a domineering person who torments people for his own enjoyment. Everyone in the class watched as the school bully easily trashed the blond swordsman. It was sad to watch, but those were the rules of the world. The weak falls and the strong survives. Jaune needed figure out how to grow stronger. Even if the path was difficult and harsh, he needed to learn.

I averted my eyes from the arena because I couldn't bear to watch the one-sided beating.

"Enough!" Professor Goodwitch's voice boomed. She stopped the fight and began tapping on her tablet. Then she started lecturing about Jaune's errors and how his skills and abilities needed severe improvements. Before the professor criticized him more, I raised my hand. "Yes Miss Rose?" she called out to me.

"Can I volunteer to spar?"

"I suppose we have time for one more. Since you were courageous to volunteer, I'll let you choose your opponent."

"How about Cardin?"

"Sorry Miss Rose, but Cardin already fought today already."

I clicked my tongue. Combat class was probably the only chance I could get away with bashing Cardin. I wanted to give him a thorough ass beating, but I lucked out. If the school permitted me, I would've send him early to his grave.

"Can I spar my sister then?" My thumb pointed to the blonde next to me. Her head perked up from hearing her name and the word spar.

"Sorry, Miss Rose. Intra-team spars goes against school's policy for first years. However, the rule will be uplifted starting your second year."

"Awww come on," Yang and I said in unison.

"I haven't seen her in... Awhile. Can't you make this one exception?" I pleaded with a face of a puppy. I couldn't wait for next year to have an official fight with Yang. I was too impatient for that. Professor Goodwitch stroked her temples because she knew my situation. So far the only people that had somewhat of an idea about me were the professors and my sister.

"Very well," she sighed. "I'll allow this once."

Yang and I enthusiastically high-fived and we climbed down the bleachers onto the arena floor. She grinned widely as it had been years since we last sparred.

"So what's the score again? 116 to 0?" I snorted, bringing back vague memories.

"In your dreams. 116 to 124. I'm still ahead of the game," she smirked back. I smiled as she still remembered the score after all these years. The brawler stretched her arms looking all fired up.

"Girls, the match will be decided when one of you reach the red zone," the combat instructor reminded. We both understandingly gave a thumbs up, but still held onto each other's gaze.

"How about the same rules, except with a little change? No weapons. Only hand to hand combat,and we can use semblance."

"Isn't that a bit unfair?" Yang arched an eyebrow to me.

"Nope, I'm making it fair for you," I said smugly.

"Oohh you're so on! I'm going to kick you off your high horse."

"Let's see you try."

Yang walked off to the side and handed over her Ember Celica to Blake. After she handed over her gauntlets, I turned over Crescent Rose and the dagger I had hidden under my corset. Before the raven haired girl could ask about my concealed short-edged knife, I walked back to the center of the arena with Yang.

"You ready?" I stretched my arms over my head and flexed my hands.

"I'm always ready! You can have the honors to take the first shot," she playfully bowed.

"You're too kind," I courteously waved a hand down and giggled at her antics.

My face fell back into a serious demeanor as I raised both my fist close to my face. We slowly circled around each other like wild predators, neither of us making a sudden move. Both of us were at a severe disadvantage. We had no intelligence of each other's battle style, or what had changed over the years. But I do know one thing.

Yang overpowered me when it came to raw strength. Her hugs provided significant proof, but I wasn't worried one bit.

Skills beat strength.

Breaking off the impasse, small specs of dust and rose petals trailed behind me as a blurry image of myself flashed before Yang in a split second. My incredible speed startled her in surprise and she immediately fell back into defensive stance. However, she fell short and was forced to take minuscule steps back as a few of my jabs landed successfully on her body. Yang's aura gauge consequently dwindled, but she still kept a stoic face. She absorbed the nipping pain, and turned it into her own destructive weapon. Like a fast-striking black mamba, Yang swiped her fist directly to my face but marginally missed by an inch as it went over my head. Her move was predictable... Except not following one. She burrowed her knee into my abdomen and sent me flying back at a considerable distance. I flipped to catch my fall, and harshly scraped the ground with a loud _ssskkkkktt_ sound from the friction of my feet.

"How do you like that pay back?" she said haughtily.

"Well you did learned it from the best after all," I smugly remarked while wiping the spit slithering down from the corner of my mouth.

Damn her knee packed a punch.

Not a single wince of pain displayed on my face. Instead, I brought my fist back up and narrowed my eyes like a hawk. With my left hand, I flicked my fingers in a taunting manner, and at last, she took it. As if I was whipping a matador's red cape, Yang charged forward like an angry bull. She instantly closed the distance between us, and threw a quick punch, followed by another, and another. With my hands and my forearms, I easily blocked her fists but my aura still took a hit as her brutal strikes stung my skin like prickling needles.

Her attacks were powerful, but they were too sloppy.

As soon as a window of opportunity opened up, I swung a strong high-kick directly to the side of her head. Yang fumbled back and my attacks relentlessly pressed on without letting her catch a single break. I flashed in every direction with my semblance, ensuing a rapid onslaught as I disappeared and reappeared. A sea of rose petals gracefully danced around us and stripped Yang's sight away with its crimson splendor. Almost perfectly blending in with the majestic petals, I sent several punishing kicks to my sister's unguarded blind spots from various directions. Her aura reduced substantially, but that never extinguished the flames in her eyes.

Instead, it burned brighter and she mischievously smiled.

Then in an instant, Yang let her semblance rampage.

Ah shit, I was too naive.

Hot spiraling fire spewed from her body, setting the drifting flowers in a fiery blaze. It scorched the hypnotic beauty, causing the arena to rain soot from the air. My eyes widen in terror and I ceased my agile assault. Having a bunch of flaming petals shamelessly smacked around my face wasn't the greatest feeling.

"Looks like you really did grow up sis."

"I can't get left behind you know," I grinned from her compliment.

"Then I guess it's time for me to get serious," she chuckled.

She cracked her knuckles and stretched the rest of her body. Yang positioned her fist in a boxing stance, tucking her elbows in and squaring her hands up. She spaced out her feet and lightly bounced on the floor, keeping her chin down. Her eyes watched me sharply as her carefree demeanor dissolved from her face. My smile stretched wider as Yang seemed to be a whole new person. Not just her fighting stance, but the atmosphere around her was entirely different. I could feel the intimidating aura emancipating from her body. Her blazing aura shot the fine hair on my body straight up. A tingling rush of adrenaline coursed through my small body and sent shivers down my spine. My heart accelerated and my mind raced.

This was so much fucking fun.

I struck out impatiently, and threw a series of quick and precise strikes. Punches and blocks were equally exchanged as neither of us took substantial damage. Yang managed to redirect a few of my attacks, but I unexpectedly played into her trap when she threw a feint. A haymaker rammed into my stomach, followed by a hook to my upper body. Her explosive blows knocked me from my feet and sent me crashing to the floor like a rag doll. I determinedly hauled myself off the floor and rolled my shoulders back, feeling the cracks and the flashing pains. My tongue glossed over the entry of my mouth, and I could taste iron from my split lips. I took a quick glance at the audience and saw the astonishment in their eyes. However, I was looking for someone in particular.

"Hey, stop gawking. Eyes on the prize," Yang gestured her whole body.

"Don't flatter yourself," I snorted.

I glanced to the board and noticed it was almost a close match. My aura was not much ahead by Yang's, only by a fraction of 10%. The gap couldn't be a considerable amount because the blonde was a dangerous woman when she was hanging by a thread. One careless move could send me back to the infirmary.

I re-positioned myself and adjusted my footwork. We circled around each other for the last time, scrutinizing every movement. The brawler's breath was short and ragged, but I knew she was willing to push herself to the limits.

In that moment, Yang's heels sunk into the ground and violently pushed off. She tried to deliver a storm of devastating attacks, however, every assault proved to be pointless as none of it managed to connect my body. In a low spinning kick, I swept her off her feet as she fell down with a grunting thump. I quickly brought my foot down to crush her, but my heel kissed the floor, missing Yang in the process. She nimbly kipped-up and weakly round kicked my left shoulder, leaving me briefly staggered. The brawler followed through her movement and tried to connect her next blow, but I evaded in anticipation. I immediately weaved dangerously close to her personal bubble, and successfully swung an elbow across her face. Much to my surprise and dismay, she took it like a champ and countered back with an uppercut that hit like a truck.

"Geez Yang," I rubbed my jaw. "The more I hit you, the more it hurts."

"After I scrape you off the floor, I'll wrap you nicely like a mummy," she quipped. I laughed at the inside joke we both shared. It felt like we were both stuck in our world, completely forgetting about the audience intently watching. We were both smiling and enjoying the mutual physical pains we were inflicting.

I knew we were both tired. My legs could barely support my body, and I could feel the black and blue blemishes swelling on my skin.

Alright, time to give this with everything I got.

I took a few steps back and crouched low to the floor. Yang also prepared herself as she grounded herself.

My right knee and the tip of my fingers softly touched the ground as I channeled my remaining aura through my body. Not a moment to lose, my semblance ripped a tempestuous vortex, sending shock waves across the arena. Likewise, Yang followed suit and we both crashed midway on the stage. My fist delivered its final blow to my sister's face, but her clenched hand had done the same. Both knuckles dug deeply into our cheeks and we sent each other flying back at opposite directions.


	16. The Truth And The Past

_It was day twelve._

 _I finally gotten out of that damn shitty forest and winded up on the borders of some village. I mentally cheered and well-deservingly patted myself on the back. It took awhile, but all my hard work paid off._

 _I was free from the long treacherous journey in the forest._

 _Free from Grimm._

 _Free from being alone._

 _Free from suffering._

 _But my hopes shattered like fragile glass once I stepped into the small village. I didn't know why, but people were glaring at me with eyes of disgust. Was it my ragtag clothes? The way I smell? Or perhaps they didn't like outsiders? Though there was something I did notice. There was not a single Faunus among the villagers._

 _"Hey you!" A child called out in the far distance._

 _Just as my body turned to face the boy, a small flying rock propelled into my direction and scraped my upper arm. The throw was weak, but no doubt, it was heavy with intent._

 _"Freak!" The culprit insulted and laughed._

 _"Monster!" Another child gathered the courage to degrade me._

 _"Your kind is not welcomed here," a woman followed after. I could see her seething through her clenched teeth._

 _"Yeah! We don't need another mouth to feed here," a villager nastily proclaimed. My head twisted and turned frantically at the unfriendly words spat out from their mouths. Words turned from insults to profanity as the crowd got more wild._

 _"Leave now."_

 _A bulky man with a deep masculine voice stood in front of me. His posture was straight with his shoulders squared. My head tilted up, and I met his serious eyes._

 _"I don't under—"_

 _"Leave," he firmly interrupted._

 _I bit my lips and trudged to outskirts of the village. I didn't understand why I was shunned away. I didn't do anything wrong did I? The route I took led me to a two way path, the left said Vacuo while the right was smudged and illegible._

 _I let out a dismal breath and followed where ever the left took me._

Bright lights.

No, they were intense fluorescent lights that shined down upon me like a light at the end of the tunnel. My silver eyes meekly opened and I tried to shake the grogginess from my drowsiness. I blinked, and then a few more times. There was something about the upper interior surface of the room that seemed familiar. I've seen it before, but where? A sudden light bulb popped over my head. Ah, I know where.

Infirmary _again_.

I shifted my body and felt my bones creaking like a loose screw on a rusted door hinge. Sharp pains jolted through my body, but it wasn't as intense like my last visit. With my elbows, I struggled to lift myself into an upright position, but I froze at the moment when my leg accidentally kicked on something solid at the side of my bed. Despite how stiff my neck was, I rolled the weight of my head to the side and drank in the sight of a mass bundle of blond hair unruly scattered all over the bed.

"She got up an hour ago and wouldn't stay put. She insisted to be by your side," Dr. Retter scowled at my sound asleep sister. Although she had a face of displeasure, her words were still kind. "What did I say last time about over exerting yourself?" Her hands tucked into her lab coat pockets and her eyes scavange me for a proper excuse.

"I got carried away?" I nervously laughed but it quickly died when her eyes narrowed further.

She didn't accept my excuse...

"It only been a few weeks since you were in the infirmary last time."

"I know," I said dejectedly. It was hard to not overexert myself when I was having so much fun.

"Please refrain yourself from getting hurt."

"I'll do my best doctor."

No promises though...

"Good," she nodded her head. "On a more positive note, you're free to leave whenever you're ready."

"Really?" I lifted my head to her and she approvingly nodded again. "Thanks!"

This time I dragged my body up without nudging my sister. I gently brushed my fingers against her golden locks, carefully stroking the back of her hair. I kept a mindful not to let a single strand escape from her tangle mess. My tender strokes elicited a groan from Yang and she shuffled in her log-like slumber. Her face shifted towards me, and I delicately pushed the cluster of hairs away from her face to the back of her ear. With her face free from her impeding locks, my metallic eyes took in the contusions on her fair skin.

Man if she looked this bad, what do I look like?

I poked a finger against her cheeks and wiggled it like a squiggling worm. But the more I poked her, the more I began to realize that it was difficult to awaken the snoozing dragon. So I leaned close to her ear and whispered aloud, "Psst Yang. There's a creeper in the room ogling at me."

And that did it.

She jostled herself up with a long, sharp gasp and I could feel the radiating murderous aura. Her head and her eyes prowled around the room like a predator ready to slaughter its prey. However, when she noticed the room was empty, her face scrunched up.

"I'm kidding you know," I laughed and playfully bumped her shoulder with a fist.

"Geez sis, don't joke like that. I was ready to lynch someone," she muttered grouchily.

"Please don't," I grasped dramatically, followed by a whimper, "I'll be single for the rest of my life if you do."

"That's the point," she snapped her fingers at me with a small smile. My ears flattened against my head because I couldn't tell if my sister was serious or not.

"How long I was out for?" I changed the subject to something less depressing.

I watched her glance at her scroll to check the time. "Not too long," she answered. "A couple of hours. Just in time for lunch actually."

"Want to get lunch?"

"I thought you would never ask."

I tossed the covers from my body and hopped out of the electric infirmary bed. My arms stretched high in the air, my knees bent low to the ground to loosen the stiffness in my muscles, and I rolled my shoulders blades in circles. There were discomfort all over my body, but they were trivial. I let out a satisfied sigh and we made a beeline to the cafeteria from the infirmary.

"So who won?" I asked as we sauntered down the hallway.

"Don't know," my sister uncertainly shrugged with her shoulders barely moving. "I was unconscious too."

"I thought you were going to kick me off my high horse." I teased, tormenting with the same bold words she used.

She scoffed at my mockery. "We don't know who won yet. Besides, you were unconscious longer than I was!"

"That's cause you hit like a bullet train," I muttered. I opened the entrance to the dining hall and looked around at the fairly packed room with students grabbing their own lunches.

"And you hit like a pillow," she playfully teased and jabbed a finger onto my cheek.

"Hey!" I protested as I swat her hand away.

"With rocks," she added to make me feel better. Then her voice softly lightened like a murmur. "You know, you really did surprised me."

"How?" I asked curiously while we grabbed a tray and plates.

"You've changed a lot."

I paused and thought about what she said. "Yeah I suppose I did."

A frantic wave from Nora caught our attention, and we made our way to the table. Team JNPR sat across from the other half of my team and greeted us with friendly smiles.

"Hello!" Pyrrha waved. "Are you feeling okay, Ruby? You guys really did a number on each other in class." Her emerald eyes looked at with worry and there genuine sense of concern in her voice.

"Oh I'm great guys. Thanks for asking," Yang mocked a look of hurt.

"I'm fine, thank you Pyrrha. Do I look that beat up?" I poked at my food and looked up to let everyone see. All I saw were a few blinks and nervous faces.

"Not too bad," Jaune wore a feeble smile and tried to reassure me. "Just a little bruised that's all."

"Are you kidding? That thing is almost a size as an orange!"

"Nora," Ren sighed morbidly. His palm rested flat on his face and he unpleasantly shook his head.

"Thanks for your honesty Nora." I shoved a fork full of salad in my mouth and chewed on it. She raised a thumb and flashed a sappy grin.

"I'm impressed that you were able to stand on your sister's level," Blake praised as she flipped a page in her book. She sat on the other side of Weiss with one leg crossed over the other.

"I would never expect you to be proficient in hand to hand combat," Pyrrha nodded her head in agreement.

"I'm just filled with surprises." I said modestly. I crammed more food into my mouth, filling my cheeks like a squirrel preparing for Winter. Damn I was starving. "So who won?"

"Ruby, please don't talk with your mouth full." Weiss looked disapprovingly at my lack of manners, but her face loosened. "If you must know, neither of you did."

"Huh?" My sister and I uttered in unison.

"Debatable," Jaune contested while he pointed his cutlery at the heiress. Though he immediately set it down when Weiss glared at his unrefined social behavior. Then Jaune cleared his throat, "according to Professor Goodwitch, it was a tie. You both hit the red zone."

"It was amazing!" Nora threw her hands in the air to emphasize her point. "One punch to the face and you guys flew like a mile! Well, not a mile. The arena isn't a mile long. But you two flew and made body imprints into the walls! If you want, we can go see it right no—"

"Nora," Ren interjected. "I think they get the point."

"Well Professor Goodwitch did say it was a tie," Blake agreed with the blond swordsman. "But everyone saw Yang hit the red first, then Ruby did a few seconds after."

"Hah!" I dropped my fork onto the table and pointed at my sister triumphantly.

"Well Goodwitch did officially announced a tie..." Yang justified with a smirk.

Then Nora squealed excitedly and looked at me with eager eyes. "Ruby, we need to spar! Oh oh oh, we can do it now. Lets spar in the cafeteria!"

I shoved more food in my mouth as I listened intently to her spewing ridiculous ideas. I don't know how to feel about getting hammered, and it's not the drunk kind. Food went down my throat as I swallowed, keeping in mind of my manners for once. "I think I might pass on this one," I politely declined.

"I don't think she's in the right state for a practice match," Ren added his two cents in to dissuade his partner.

"Aww but Renny," the bubbly young girl complained.

"Next time we'll have a practice match with our weapons." Yang snaked her arm around my shoulder and gave me hug. Bits of food sputtered from my mouth when the brawler choked me under her harmless embrace. "Just thinking about it gets me excited! Can't believe it's been years since we last fought besides today."

"Years?" Weiss asked.

I pushed my sister off to free myself from her binding constriction. Weiss watched me skeptically as continue to fork more food into my mouth when I left her question unanswered. Before I could take another bite, my face got shoved into my plate, and I heard a bunch of gasps in the background. A harsh tug pulled my Faunus's ears and I could hear Cardin laughing behind me.

Everyone sitting on the table had wide eyes, but immediately narrowed to hostility. Even the level headed Pyrrha Nikos seemed to be losing her calm composure. Before anyone could stand from their seats or utter a single word, I held my hand up. With my other, I quickly grasped Yang's hand and reassuringly squeezed to extinguish the underlying inferno blaze flaring in her eyes.

She was ready to kill him, but I can't let her do that.

"What do you want, Cardin?" I viciously snarled.

And why I didn't let her?

"I told you they were real!" he hysterically laughed.

"What a _freak_!" One of his cronies exclaimed.

Because I wanted to do it myself.

Something in me snapped. My arm twisted around his and I slammed him, face first, onto the table. Food scattered everywhere, plates shattered to a million pieces, eating utensils clattered to the floor, and liquid filled cups spilled. My hand firmly held the side of his head with my fingers fisted into his hair. The bully cowered in fear as one of his eye bore into my murderous pairs. I had a metal fork near his neck, ready to send him to his grave early.

Because I didn't give a single fuck.

"Miss Rose, please remove that fork from his neck."

I clicked my tongue when I heard Professor Goodwitch's stern voice. I glared down at the terrified boy and pursed my lips. "Two words Cardin," I growled loud and clear. My mouth slipped its typical profanity, proclaiming to the world of my obscenity. "Fuck. Off." My friends watched tensely from my spur of the moment. A mixture of surprise and confusion spread across their face. They thought I was innocent. They thought I was a small child. But I wasn't anything of that.

I'm a wolf that can run wild.

I tossed the fork aside, hauled him off the table, and shoved him to his lackeys. Cardin stumbled and fell back onto them like a cut down tree. He held onto his bleeding nose, trying to stop it from gushing.

"Miss Rose, a word outside please." Goodwitch pointed over her shoulder to the grand door. Her eyes traveled to the four discriminators and they shrunk like a snail withdrawing to its shell. "You four will have a week of detention, starting _now._ " The boys hurriedly brushed pass us to their destination. Everyone knew that defying Goodwitch when she's not in her good moods wasn't a smart move, it was a death sentence. With one slick wave, Glynda flicked her crop, and everything pieced together into their rightful state. Once she was done, I stomped out of the cafeteria with the professor without batting an eye to the rest of my friends.

"I hope you realize that it is inappropriate to threaten a student with a fork," Glynda lectured as the door shut behind us.

"Can't help it. He started it," I grumbled back immaturely. I could feel the distraught boiling inside of me still. I had enough of Cardin and his team. Sure I'll let verbal attacks slide. It was sadly normal in Remnant. But I couldn't stand the physical mistreatment that came attached with it. "Where are we going anyways?"

"Back to your dorm," she answered.

"Huh?"

"Next time I see something like this, you will not walk back with a slap on the wrist. I will expel you," she enunciated every bit of her last sentence.

Once she escort me back to my room, I went straight to the shower to wash the awful mess. I turned the metallic dial and hot downpours of water embraced my body. My eyes closed and the sensation of the steaming water washed my clouded mind. The emotions festered inside of me melted down into the drain. Then I pressed my forehead against the chilly shower walls and I sighed.

I slipped up.

Though I knew I couldn't hide it forever. I suppose it was better for them to find out sooner than later.

After I finished showering, I draped my towel over my shoulders and walked out of the bathroom. When I came out, I was greeted by three girls. Yang sat with Blake on their side of the room, while Weiss sat on her own.

I guess soon meant now.

"Ruby," my sister began. I stood silently in the clearance between the two bunk beds. "What... What happened out there?" There was evident confusion on her face.

"Which part?"

There was a pregnant pause.

"Everything!" Yang blurted as she motioned between me and out the door, which I presumed she meant the dining hall. "Cardin, the fight, and... and... The cursing!" The way she hesitated the last word, it seemed like she didn't want to admit it.

Yang had always seen me as the little sister that seek for her older sister's protection. At a young age, I hid behind her because I enjoyed indulging in her coddles. To her, I was an essence of innocence. But my sister never got a glimpse of the true me.

She never knew I was a romanticized image of innocence until now.

"Well," I began to explain. I looked at Blake and she seemed intrigued in the conversation. Weiss was somewhat interested, but she already knew about my blasphemy. "Cardin saw it coming. And like you've said earlier, I've changed."

"I've seen it, and I felt it," Yang admitted, her voice pleaded for more than a just vague answer. "I know that —"

"I've changed? That I've grown?" I finished her sentence and she nodded. "Yang, I didn't just change physically. I'm not that ten year old puppy you once knew. I'm a..." I paused to look for the appropriate words. "Big bad wolf that blows out foul languages." My fingers brushed the side bangs and I wistfully sighed. "I've seen the worse in people already. I can't go back into being a child anymore... I've been through too much Yang. This is... This is who I am now." I gestured to myself in one movement. "You don't...," I shrunk back a little, afraid of her answer. "You don't hate me for being _me_ do you?"

"Of course I don't!" She sputtered quickly. "It's just... I always saw you as my _baby_ sister."

Blake placed a hand on my sister's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "From first impression, I always thought Ruby was a naive girl. But I was wrong. The way she communicated with me on that day made me realize that she's more mature than I thought she was. It's thanks to your sister that I'm sitting here with you guys instead of running away."

The way Blake praised me bought a small smile on Yang's face.

"Even though I don't want to admit," Weiss huffed and gained our attentions. "Your sister does have words of wisdom."

"See Yang," I smiled to her. "I can't be a _baby_ , but I'll always still be your baby sister."

"Yeah I guess you're right," she nodded with a pleased smile, then she looked at me with resolve in her eyes. "What happened in the five years?"

I sat down cross legged on the floor and sighed in resignation. "Where should I start?" A lot had happened during the five years. A lot of travelling, a lot of scavenging, a lot of fighting, and definitely a lot of bigotry.

"Start on that day when we were at Vale," the heiress replied instantly. "Don't think we didn't notice that you were acting a little... Unusual."

My thoughts raced back prior to that day and I took a few moments to put together an answer before spilling my secrets. "That back street alley." I paused a moment to take a deep breath, before continuing, "It dawned on me, in that moment, that I disappeared from that spot five years ago." The trio's eyes sorrowfully distended and remained quiet as they listened. "Yang and I were only ten years old when we first bumped into a White Fang. I told Yang to get dad because it made sense for me to hold them off." I uncrossed my legs and brought my knees close to my chest, and chuckled, "I was too fast to catch. Even though I was fast, I still managed to get caught because I was careless. They dragged me the back street and beat me until I was knocked out." Yang winced at the word beat and had a heartbreaking expression. "When I woke up, I winded up in Vacuo."

"Vacuo?" My sister tilted her head slightly. I nodded at her even though it appeared to be ridiculous.

"I already told Yang this, but when I woke up, the White Fang's warehouse was gone and I lost some of my memories. A ten year old on her own, in a foreign land, without anyone to rely on or go to just because she couldn't remember. And that's how I ended up off the map for five years until I came to Beacon."

"I do recall a few reports about a White Fang hideout completely destroyed in Vacuo," Blake frowned. "They were stationed there because of the Schnee's dust mineries."

Hearing the word Schnee caught Weiss's attention.

"What?" The heiress whispered in surprise. "How can there be mineries owned by the Schnee Dust Company in Vacuo. It's not part of Mantle's territory."

" _Illegal_ mineries," the Faunus corrected herself. Weiss ran a hand across her miffed face and groaned unintelligible words. After there wasn't any more interruptions, Blake continued, "When our superiors didn't hear back from them after a few weeks, they sent a few members to investigate the area. And what they found wasn't a random grimm attack. Everything was perfectly scorched to the ground."

I chewed the insides of my cheek and made sure I kept a stoic face while I absentmindedly nodded in agreement. I couldn't let them know that I was the one who purged them through a hellish fire.

"It was basically die or survive when I woke up," I went back to my story. "As a Faunus, it felt like the world was against me." Blake nodded understandingly to my words and she looked at me with sympathy. "Mostly no one wanted to help a Faunus out. Though a few were willing to give a helping hand, but good things don't last forever. Once I thought I could be on my own, I left and wandered around, only going to towns when I needed to. "

Yang lifted herself from Blake's bed and wrapped her warm arms around me once she sat down. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that." She left a gentle kiss on the top of my head and rocked me.

"And I'm sorry too Ruby." The normal cold air around Weiss vanished when she apologized. "I'm sorry for my inappropriate behavior early in the semester," she confessed with brooding eyes. There was underlying remorse in her tone of voice. "I was rude and disrespectful towards you even though you never deserved it."

"It's fine Weiss. I'm use to things like that. I just couldn't stand people like Cardin because he didn't use just words."

"I'm going to kill him when I see him," Yang growled. I could feel her chin vibrating on top of my head from her low gnarr.

"Goodwitch will expel you if you do," I warned my sister. "She left me off this time, but if I mess up, I'll get expelled."

"Tch," my sister uttered a sound of irritation and clicked her tongue.

"I don't get how Beacon can accept him. It's people like him that breeds contempt," Blake let out a dejected sigh. Her amber eyes looked out to the only window in the room.

"If I were Ozpin," I leaned off of Yang, into my palms, and let the words roll off my tongue."I would have faith he would change for the better... Like Weiss." I looked at the heiress before adding, "no offense."

"None taken," she nonchalantly shrugged. "Though I believe I'm better than that atrocious bigot."

We all nodded in agreement because we knew Weiss did changed for the better. She still had the frosty aura around her, and perhaps hard to approach, but she was still worlds better than Cardin.

"Now I suppose I'm the 'frigid ice bitch' from what I heard going around," the heiress stroke her temples.

We all froze when we heard the uncouth language from the heiress's mouth.

"Weiss Schnee," Yang gasped with bulging eyes. "Who taught you to use such _barbaric_ languages."

"Your sister," she deadpanned.

Blake stifled a laughter but couldn't contain it when I snorted a laughter. Then the room erupted with lighthearted giggles, magically erasing the bleakness that was once in the air. I could partially feel the tension in my chest lifting after pouring out to my teammates, however, not everything was brought out to the light.

There were still dark secrets kept locked away.

"Hey Ruby?" My sister asked after calming herself down.

"Hm?"

"Want to go back home this weekend?"

* * *

 **And that's it for the flashback! I thought about continuing for future chapters, but I thought of something else instead.**

 **To those didn't get the italicized word 'baby', I was inferring to Ruby treated as a child.**


	17. Decisions

**Important Notice**

 **I won't be able to update new chapters for three weeks. For the first week and a half, I'll be on vacation. And the last week and a half, I'll be staying at home. Which means I'll be busy with family and friends. I apologize, but I'll have the next chapters up as soon as possible.**

* * *

"Ice Flower?"

"Yeah, don't you think it's a perfect name for our duo combo?"

"Ruby, it sounds absolutely silly."

"Okay fine. How about... White Rose?"

"That also sounds silly."

"Come on Weiss, work with me here."

"We'll figure it out later," she sighed.

Weiss and I were heading to our next class, history. It wasn't until after our field trip from Forever Fall that Yang and I can head back home as previously planned. The week went by tortuously slow, and the over excitement bubbled inside of me didn't help either.

We sat down next to Blake and Yang, while a part of Team JNPR sat behind us. Jaune was missing from the group as he sat on the other section alone. For some reason, he seemed troubled and awfully distant in these past couple of days. Once the bell rung, Dr. Oobleck started the class about the Faunus War. It was an intriguing subject, I have to say. Even I was deeply engrossed and actually took notes.

Well, I tried to take notes considering how fast Oobleck talked.

"Now, have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?" the professor suddenly brought up.

I whipped my hand up and shot an annoyed glare at Cardin on the other side of the room. I was about to honor him with my magnificent middle finger, but Weiss slapped my hand before I could.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful..." the professor disappointingly shook his head as he watched a few hands go up. He continued to lecture about the war, asking the class questions to test whether or not we paid attention in class. And to summarize the whole seminar, let's just say Jaune and Cardin didn't satisfy Dr. Oobleck's expectations which prompt him to assign extra readings to them.

"Don't you think Jaune seems a little off?" I wondered aloud. The bell already rattled its metal, and we were escorting ourselves out of the classroom. Team NPR were outside waiting for Jaune, at least Pyrrha was, while my team and I decided to head back to the dorm considering we were done for the day.

"Seems like the idiot he normally is given from his embarrassing answer," Weiss deadpanned. "Seriously, binoculars? How can the Faunus overwhelm General Lagune's forces with a simple optical instrument."

"Easy. Get enough binoculars and throw it at them until they drop dead," I humorously joked. I scanned my scroll onto the lock and we entered our room.

"That doesn't sound very efficient," Blake had a small smile.

"Jaune might think otherwise," Yang laughed as she tossed her academic materials off to the side of the room. "Hey Rubes, you want to play some video games?" She hollered over her shoulders, waving a game disc and her scroll for me to see. "I got Ninja Kombat II!"

"Sorry Yang, I told Weiss that I'll go with her to the training room."

"You can ditch Snow Angel for today," my sister horribly proposed.

"Don't call me that," the heiress hissed.

"And you let Jaune?" The brawler playfully retorted with a smirk on her face.

Weiss said nothing but rolled her eyes and shook her head. We all knew that no matter what the heiress says or does, Jaune was quite persistent. My partner couldn't seem to catch a simple break from him. Majority of the week, she had to deal with his flirts and desperate pesters for dates. Despite how many times the heiress bluntly rejected him, the tenacious blond boy always sprang back onto his feet to try again the next day. I wasn't exactly mad or jealous of Jaune's persistence. At first it was amusing, but then it just seemed kind of... Sad to watch.

"I wish I could play, but I already ditched Weiss last time." I declined my sister again.

"Then who's going to play Ninja Kombat II with me?" Yang voiced out sadly and looked like a kicked puppy.

"Ask Blake!" I suggested before I waved a short goodbye and walked out of the room with Weiss.

"You do understand that Blake would much rather read her books than strain her eyes at a pixilated screen," Weiss commented after shutting the door behind us.

"I figured," I shrugged and waved a dismissive hand down. We were heading straight to the locker room to pick up our weapons. "But I think this is more important than video games."

"Didn't you ditch me last time?" She scoffed.

"Because you wanted to study, not to train. Totally different," I pointed out to her. We then arrived to our destination and took our weapons from our lockers. "Besides, we still haven't come up with our duo combo. What's wrong with White Rose? Or Ice Flower?"

"It sounds silly," she retorted as she spun the cylinder of rapier, inspecting her cartridges of dust.

"But you were fine with Checkmate and Freezerburn," I mumbled as I clipped Crescent Rose behind me. In spite of it being a Thursday afternoon, the training room was fairly empty once we stepped inside. One section of the area contained a wide range of weight bars and elliptical machines for body strengthening purposes. The enormous section next to it was a multipurpose arena, mainly used for spars or as a shooting range.

"That's because they don't sound childish compared to Ice Flower or White Rose."

"They sound perfectly normal to me," I huffed. Weiss and I entered the arena floor. "Okay, let's take it at the top first."

A row of practice targets sprung from the floor, straightly lined up in the training room. I unfurled Crescent Rose, hooked its blade onto the ground, and lowered myself into sniping position. Weiss then waved her rapier down and summoned a series of glyphs in front of the scythe's sniper barrel. With a few clicks, radiant spirals of energy perfectly nailed each and every target, prompting large ice crystals upon impact.

"Okay, tell me how that doesn't look like an ice flower." I pointed at the line of targets and rose an eyebrow at the heiress.

"Fine." She rolled her eyes, caving in a bit."Maybe it does look like it."

"Then it's settled. Our duo attack is Ice Flower." I smiled, finally satisfied we reached a decision. Though a part of me thinks that she relented because she didn't want to discuss about it anymore. Then my eyes brightened as an idea lit like a light bulb. "Hey Weiss, do you want to have an unarmed practice match?"

"Ruby, we both know that it's going to be a one sided match." The heiress gave me a skeptical look, already knowing who'll be the true winner.

"I just thought that I could help you with hand to hand combat or something."

"That's actually... Thoughtful of you," Weiss looked into my silver pool of eyes with surprise. "And how are you planning to teach me?"

"Normally I would do the old fashion way."

"And what's that?"

"Pound you silly," I flashed a sly grin. Weiss nervously took a few steps back, not pleased with the idea. "But..." I trailed off as I close the distance between us. "I think it's better that we work with basic techniques. We can go to the weight room next time to build you to your physical peak condition — but for now, try copying me." I brought my two fists up for display, and she does the same.

"No, make your arms more sturdy. Your arms looks like overcooked noodles," I frowned at her stance.

"Wha — How dare you! My arms are stronger than a flimsy string of pasta," she scowled before correcting position.

"Perfect! Now shoulders straight, chin down, feet apart, and knees bent."

Weiss followed through my instruction. "Okay — now what?" She asked, holding her stance.

"Alright Princess," I cracked my knuckles. She frowned at the pet name, but didn't protest. "Parry, block, receive, redirect, or dodge, but definitely take notes. I'm going to attack you _very_ slow so you can see it. Ready?"

"Ready."

* * *

My body cried for sleep even though the night was still young. Weiss was so eager to learn that we ended staying at the training room longer than we were suppose to. Before I called it a night, I saw Jaune dejectedly standing right out his door.

"Hey Jaune," I called out to him. My sudden voice made the blond boy jump out of his skin with stiffed shoulders. He had a bright smile on, but his eyes obviously told the opposite. "Are you... Okay?"

"Y-Yeah, of course!" He continued his to fabricate a smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Jaune," I said sternly.

His shoulders lost assurance and he slumped down. The fake smile dropped as he lost all confidence. "How do you do it?"

"What do you mean?" I looked at him funny.

"You're that admirable, strong leader. You always know what you're doing, and your team even looks up to you." He held his head down and his face dropped solemnly. Jaune was always the kindhearted goofball. It was unusual to see him look so crestfallen.

I hummed quietly to myself then said,"let's go for a walk." He followed me outside into the cool night as we aimlessly walked around the school's perimeter. There was no specific destination I wanted to be at, just mindlessly walking for fresh air.

"I'm not that leader Ozpin sees me as." He sighed dejectedly, breaking the deafening silence. "I — uh. I messed up. Cardin strapped me on a leash, and Pyrrha... She won't talk to me."

"I can always make Cardin disappear for you," I offered with crossed arms and a frown.

"Don't you think that's a little... Over the top?"

"The worse that'll happen is I get expelled," I nonchalantly shrugged.

"It's... It's okay Ruby," he sighed. "You should be here in Beacon. If there is someone who doesn't deserve to be at this school, it's me. I'm an absolute failure." He stopped walking and depressingly sat down on a nearby bench.

"Nope." I sat down with him and leaned back into the bench. I lifted my chin up and stared at the countless stars in the sky.

"What?" His voice sounded confused.

"All leaders are bound to be failures at a certain point of their life. What makes you any different?"

"I... I'm not following."

My face turned back to him and my metallic eyes met his blue. "We all make mistakes, and we all fail at something. That's normal Jaune. You're not any different than me in that aspect. I make mistakes and I fail at things. We're the same. But do you know what separates a bad leader from a good leader?"

"What?" He asked, wanting to know the one answer to solve all his problems.

"The choices we make," I answered. "When Ozpin appointed me leader, it was rocky for me. Weiss didn't enjoy the fact she wasn't the leader, and there were turmoil between Blake and I. But I made my choices. Sure you could be a failure now." Jaune groaned and lowered his head from the negative word, but I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "But right now, you also have a team to take care of. The decisions you make can greatly affect your team, not just you."

"The choices we make..." he spoke barely in a whisper.

"Yep," I took my hand off shoulder and hopped off the bench. "So think about what you're going to do Jaune. Are you going to sit around and let your failures trample you? Or are you going to pick yourself back up and prove the world that Jaune Arc can be a great leader?" I then proceeded to walk back to the dorms. "Have a good night, Jaune!"

A faint chime of a scroll beeped off in the distance behind me, but the noise weakened then died, once I was out of its range.

* * *

Forever Fall was probably one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen on Remnant. Red-leafed trees swayed back and forth, dancing with the wind. Red leaves fell down and landed onto the red grass. Even the red forest harbored red sap in its tree bark.

Maybe I found it beautiful because it was indefinitely red, and I liked red.

"We will rendezvous back here by four o'clock. Don't be late and have fun," Glynda stated and left us alone in a forest full of grimm to complete our task.

"Don't you think it's weird that Professor Goodwitch just left us unsupervised even though she said that she was here to make sure we don't die?" I had a bizarre look on my face as I watched the professor walk off to another direction.

"More freedom for us," Yang smiled. "Come on, let's get some sap." My team stayed nearby Team JNPR, except once again, Jaune was missing from the group. I had an idea where he went off to, but I didn't bother to bring it to light.

"Nora, please stop eating all the sap," Ren scolded her.

"But Ren, it taste so good." Nora licked her lips and then licked all over the glass jar to scrape what was left of the red glop.

"Really?" I asked and inspected the red liquid that brimmed to the top of my container. It didn't seem appetizing from the way I sloshed it around.

"Try some!" the bubbly girl recommended, moving onto the next jar to eat.

The red liquid barely touched my tongue as I took a light sip, and my eyes widen from the spectacular taste. I expected it to be viscous like tar, but surprisingly, it was easy and thin to swallow. The sweetness level was not overwhelming, and yet, not underwhelming. Despite its vibrant red color, it was a perfect syrup.

"Blake, you have got to try this." I shoved my mason jar in front of the Faunus's face.

"I think I might pass on this one," Blake politely pushed the container away. "I prefer tea."

"You can put this in your tea. Just try it." I insistently pushed it towards her again.

"People normally don't put molasses in their tea," Blake once again pushed it away.

"Fine your loss," I pouted. "Yang, try it. You too Weiss. Nora just showed me a whole new world."

Weiss hovered her nose at the entrance of the jar and breathed in. She had a disgruntled look and immediately capped the lid back onto her jar. "I'm with Blake on this one," she passed.

"But you haven't even tasted it!" I complained.

"No thank you," the heiress replied.

"Come on, one sip. Just a tiny one," I tried to convince her.

"I prefer black coffee. Not an overload of sugar," she rationalized.

"She takes her coffee as black as her heart," Yang teased, earning a _thwack_ at the upside of her head from Weiss.

"Her coffee must be cold too."

"Nice one Blake," my sister laughed, unfazed of the heiress's attack she just received. "Up top!" She held her hand up, but Blake left her awkwardly hanging and continued to stare at her with the same expressionless face. "We'll... work on that." Yang brought her hand down before she courageously sipped the mystery sweetener. Like me, her eyes widened in astonishment and downed more gulps. "Wow, this is good."

"See even Yang likes it," I pointed out.

"I think we're supposed to be collecting samples, not eating them," Pyrrha lightheartedly giggled. It was the first I've seen all day that the champion gladiator lightened up from her notable solemn mood. After a moment of recollecting our samples, my ears perked up to the distant roar. I glanced over to Blake, and she too, picked up the same sound. She nodded at me in confirmation and I nodded back.

"There's a grimm nearby," I voiced out loudly to the others. They all abruptly stopped with what they're doing and noticed the remaining Team CRDL coming towards us from another direction.

"There's an Ursa!" One of them shouted. "And it got Cardin!"

"Good," I retorted with an eye roll. "It can keep Cardin forever." If we sacrificed Cardin to the grimms, Beacon will lose its notorious school bully and maybe the taste of his body will placate the monsters. It was a win-win situation.

"Jaune," Pyrrha gasped as she dropped her jar of collected samples.

Oh shit, Jaune was also back there too...

"Nora. Ren. Go get Professor Goodwitch," Pyrrha commanded.

"Blake. Yang. Go with them just in case," I ordered. "Weiss, you're with me. Let's go Pyrrha."

We ran to the said direction and caught Jaune struggling to defend a helpless Cardin against a giant Ursa. I extended my weapon into its scythe form but Pyrrha held a hand up to stop me.

"Wait," she said.

"Oh this isn't for the grimm," I replied and rubbed the handle of Crescent Rose. I was absolutely certain that he had everything to do what was currently happening. This would be a perfect place to bury Cardin's body. . The place was bloody red, no one would find his trail of blood, and I could make it look like an accident too.

"Just wait," she trailed off in a whisper.

We watched as Jaune attempted to slay the beast. As much as I wanted to step in to help him, I couldn't. It was blatant to everyone that it was a one sided match, and that he was going to lose. He fought gallantly, but it wasn't enough. At this rate, he would die before our very own eyes. But for some reason, he didn't. The corner of my eye caught a sudden movement and I curiously turned my head. Pyrrha had her hand held up, and a thin film of dark aura manifested around it.

What is she doing?

At that moment, Jaune wondrously blocked a swiping claw and beheaded the grimm with his sword. I took a few double takes, trying to link the two and two together. Then it dawned on me.

"What did you do?" Weiss looked at the champion gladiator skeptically.

"I think Pyrrha possessed Jaune," I whispered softly. "How else can he block something that he didn't mean to block?"

"Not quite on the mark," Pyrrha chuckled with a smile. "While possession is... An interesting semblance. My semblance is polarity."

"Whoa, you can possess metals," I spoke softly in awe.

"You dunce." Weiss's palms met her face as she let out a deep sigh.

I watched Jaune help Cardin to his feet, but I couldn't catch what they were saying. Though there was definitely one thing I caught. The school bully was frozen in the middle of the field and had an apologetic look on his face. I guess there might be hope for him to change after all. I hummed softly to myself as I followed Pyrrha and Weiss back.

Next stop, home.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it! See you guys next chapter.**


	18. Homecoming

"I really hope Weiss and Blake will be okay while we're gone."

"They'll be fine."

"But what if they strangle each other?"

"Ruby, I think you're over exaggerating. The worst that will happen is deafening silence, which I'm sure they'll absolutely appreciate."

"Sometimes silence can kill..."

"We're talking about Weiss and Blake here, not us."

"I guess you're right Yang," I mumbled. We took our seats on one of the many rows of benches the bullhead offered. I crossed my leg over the other and leaned my head against the cold metal walls of the rumbling vehicle. "Does everyone at home know that we're coming back?"

There was a pregnant pause until Yang shook her head with a small chaste smile. "It might sound selfish of me, but I never told anyone. Not even the news about you." Her eyes averted down and she started rubbing the ends of her hair with her fingers, a tendency that I noticed when she was feeling anxious.

"You wanted them to see me with their very own eyes." I finished her train of thought. She meekly nodded and I gave her a supportive smile back. I understood her actions because I was in her shoes before. It's easier to believe something when one sees it in real life, as opposed to a picture or a few words.

"I wanted them to know that you're real, and you're back here with us."

"Of course Yang," I said, my expression softening. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

The trip took relatively a couple of hours to arrive at Patch. Sounds of shoes clicked against the bullhead's platform lift as Yang and I descended down the vehicle. My sister silently placed her hand onto my shoulder and nodded her head to a particular direction with a warm smile. I followed besides her while my eyes drank the sight of the rural area.

So this is home.

I audibly drew in air through my nose and exhaled contently. There was a strong stench of damp dirt and old fallen leaves. Coastal winds brushed against my ears, hair, and skin as it swept across the island. Plots of forest trees sashayed with the imperceptible wind, naturally swaying back and forth like mesmerizing oceanic waves. Patch is definitely more serene in comparison to Vale.

"Ruby?"

"Hm?"

"Do you... Remember anything?" Yang asked hopingly.

A subtle sigh escaped my lips before I looked away. I didn't want to see the disappointment on her face when I answered. "No... Nothing." My sister noticed my glum voice and my faltered ears.

"That's okay," she said as she gingerly wrapped her strong arms around my neck. Her hand comfortingly squeezed my shoulder as we left the airship bay. "I'll show you around some time later, though not much have changed in Patch while you were gone. It's still quiet and close knit."

We strode down towards the main avenue, passing a few residential cottages and market stalls along the way. In the background, we could hear the locals busily selling their freshly farmed products while delightedly chatting with their customers.

"We normally buy our groceries here," Yang continued as she pointed out a few stalls and stores. I wordlessly nodded along as we followed the road. "There's still grimm prowling around there area. They're more active during the night, but they usually keep to themselves during the day." Her fingers then pointed out the long dirt path that stretched far out to the horizon. "And if we follow along this path, we'll be home soon!"

My tail excessively wagged back and forth at the mention of home. Five years. It took me five fucking long years to be here once again. My heart pounded faster as we left the premises of the downtown area and traveled further along the broad dirt path. After a trekking for a few minutes, metallic eyes lit up like fireworks at the sight of an erected lodged house. I bit the insides of my lips to suppress the joyful tears and looked at my sister gleefully.

"Welcome home pup," Yang murmured tenderly.

Red tipped ears perked up and my lips stretched widely into a smile. "Come on Yang!" I squealed excitedly. I grabbed her hand and tugged her along. My sister slightly tripped over herself from my over-the-top eagerness.

"Ruby! Hold on! Slow down a bit!"

"I can't! Come on! Hurry up!" I continued to drag her to the front entrance. "Get your keys, get your keys!" I bounced up and down from the over excitement while Yang fished for her keys. Once she got the lock undone, she turned the knob and pushed the door wide. Her hands cupped around her mouth and she vocalized a loud shout.

"We're home!"

The sound of her booming voice traversed through the dwelling and only the sound of rapid pitter patter answered her. A small black welsh corgi barked frantically down the stairs until he stumbled and rolled from tripping over his short stubby legs. I confusedly blink a few times at the tumbling clumsy dog until vague memories unconsciously resurfaced.

 _"Here kiddo, your dad wanted you to have this." The blurred face man handed me a wrapped present._ _  
 _"What's in this box?"_  
 _"Open it and see."_  
 _I took the lid off the box and an adorable animal attacked me with brutal licks. Its small legs pawed against my chest, imploring for hugs and kisses._  
 _"It's a puppy! Is he mine?"_  
 _"He sure is."_  
 _"I'm going to name him... Zwei!"__

Before the corgi completely toppled down to our level, he nimbly leaped at the last few steps of the stairs and surprisingly managed to tackle me to the floor.

"ZWEI!" I shrilly exclaimed. He barked and whined with overwhelming joy as he cheerfully licked my face. "Ack — Zwei! Stop!," I giggled. Even though he assaulted me with a deluge of sloppy kisses, I never had the heart to push him away. "That tickles!" Zwei restrained his overwrought behavior, nuzzled his head under my chin, and sadly whimpered. "I know Zwei," I replied to the sad tone of his soft cries. I picked him up into my arm as I got off the floor. "I miss you too." My cheek burrowed against his fur and I tightened my hug.

"Didn't think I'll bring you a surprise did you Zwei?" Yang scratched behind the panting corgi's ear. "And I guess only you're home huh?"

The welsh corgi barked in response and jumped out of my arms back to the floor. He happily trotted around us, swishing his tail excitedly, before he calmingly sat back down. However, he immediately picked himself back up on all fours and followed behind me as I curiously explored the living room. Only the sounds of heels and Zwei's scampering brought life to the soundless house. I circled around the room, letting my silvery pool of eyes wander from decoration portraits to the spines of the neatly lined up books. However, I paused at the front of one bookshelf and my hand reached out to pick up a lonely picture frame.

"That's team STRQ," my sister said as she stood beside me, gazing at the same picture.

"Team STRQ?" I questioned with interest. Ozpin did mentioned about our parents graduating from Beacon.

Yang pointed to the woman wearing a white cloak on the most left side of the picture. "Yeah that's your mom, Summer." Her finger then trailed to the smiling blond man whose arms were crossed on his chest. "That's our dad, Taiyang." She trailed to the woman wearing a crimson blood robe next to dad. "That's my mom, Raven." And lastly, she pointed to the man on the far right side of the picture. "And that's her twin brother and our uncle, Qrow."

A faint discomforting feeling rose to the top of my head. My eyes immersed in the picture for a little longer before I tore my gaze away to rub my temples.

"Are you okay?" Yang asked concernedly before placing the frame back back onto the shelf panel.

"Yeah— Just a headache." I continued to rub the side of my head with two fingers to soothe the pain.

"Do you want some medicine for it? We have some in the cabinet somewhere." She pointed her thumb to the room over which seemed to be the kitchen.

"No, I'll be okay. It'll go away soon."

"Are you sure?" she asked, her head tilted ever so slightly. She was worried. I could tell because of the way she scrunched up her brows, how one corner of her lips slid down, and how she wringed her hands together.

"Yep!" I stopped massaging my temples and assembled a smile. "See I'm fine!" The pain leveled down a bit but there was still a faint throb present. My sister looked at me dubiously but waved it away.

"Come on," Yang beckoned me to the adjacent room. "Let me show you around the house." Zwei followed my sister into the kitchen first. Before I followed behind them, my ears flickered to the sounds of jingling keys. I inquisitively looked over my shoulders and watched the door creaked ajar, then followed by a forceful kick. The door swung wide open, and a blond man entered the living room with paper bags filled with consumables tucked under his arms.

"D-Dad?"

Silver met startled blue eyes.

Bags of groceries crashed to the floor as the older man's well defined arms grew inexplicably weak. Perishable food escaped from its encasing paper-thin tote, splaying chaotically out on the floor. His jaw speechlessly unhinged before he swallowed.

"R-Ruby?"

Without sparring any second for me to respond, dad immediately closed the distance between us and squeezed his arms around me. He buried his head on the crook of my neck and began to softly sob. "It is you..." His embrace tightened and I could feel a silent torrent of tears smothering my neck and my cloak. I chewed my lower lips to suppress the knifelike spark jolting through my head and wreathed my arms around his shaky broad shoulders.

"Hi dad," I meekly managed out after removing the knot in my throat. One tear broke free followed by another. Then an unbroken stream of tears trickled down my face as I silently pressed my forehead against his shoulders. I could feel him quivering from the flood of desolating emotions rushing through him.

"I am so sorry," his words jumbled together in between broken sobs and shaky breathes. "I couldn't protect you; I couldn't protect you or your —" He choked on his sobs and broke down into intelligible wails before he could finish. Yang stood silently between the doorway of the kitchen and the living room with Zwei obediently by her side. They watched us with a latent smile as they chose to let us have our heartfelt moment.

While my tears persistently fell down, a handful of long forgotten memories managed to return back to me. My awakened memories happened to be almost like an old, dusty scrap book. It was as if I blew away the specks of dirt and finally cracked it open after sitting in the attic for so many years. A collage of vivid photographs emerged through my mind, and I felt as if I could point to each and every image and confidently say 'I remember that'. But not all photographs were in mint condition. Chunks of corners, sides, and the centers were singed, marked with black wisps, making it essentially difficult to recognize a few of them.

But this was better than remembering nothing.

Tears continued to spill down my face and onto the shoulder of his brown leather vest he sported on. There was a sickening feeling in my stomach and my chest ached from hearing him cry. It hurts me to see dad like this. My hands comfortingly pat his back with light strokes, and I inhaled deeply through my nose. A rush of air infiltrated my lungs and I straightened out my unsteady voice.

"I'm okay dad. I'm okay now. I'm back."

The sound of our sharp, deep breath completely drowned the atmosphere. I could feel a wave of short undulating trembles coursing through his body as he struggles to contain his heart wrenching sobs.

"I missed you —" he made a strangled sound from choking on his grief. "So much."

"I missed you too dad."

Seconds went to minutes as we stood at the center of the room. Neither of us spoke; the sounds of our sobs was enough to relay our heart-rending messages. His unrepressed cries wrote its own heartbroken soliloquy, and the spell of silence broke as he profusely grieved out a poem of apologies.

It wasn't until it felt like ages that we manage to compose ourselves.

"There's not enough words in the world to describe how much I'm glad to see you again," he smiled tenderly as he released me from his hug to whisk the tear stained fringes of my hair to the side. He then wiped his leftover tears with his forearm and took one last sniffle to clear his system. "What happened to you sweetie?" Large protective hands cupped my face as his thumbs wiped my wet cheeks like windshields wipers. I could see the mix emotions welled inside of him from his blue eyes that bore into my silver.

My ears deflated and my gaze despondently shifted down. "I lost my memories," I spoke suddenly quiet, lips barely moving.

"You lost your... Memories?" My red tipped wolf ears picked up a strain in dad's voice.

I nodded my head and dad replied with unusual silence. When my eyes questioningly shifted back to him, his eyes were already dilated and his posture stiffened. He did little to hide the evident shock on his ghost-like face. He couldn't have looked any more pale.

"Dad?" My head flopped to one side worriedly. He elicited a clear audible swallow and subtly shook his head to snap himself from his daze.

"Sorry honey," he croaked as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "Just... Lost in thought." His lips pulled into a sad smile before he murmured softly. "It must've been hard for you huh?"

I could only return a nod back and he pressed his lips at the top of my head.

"I wish you wouldn't have to suffer through all of that alone, " he whispered with a distressing pain in his voice. He pulled me into a comforting hug once more before continuing. "I wish you didn't have to go through all those agonizing pains; I wish I could've chased it all away; I wish... I wish I could've been there for you."

My dry mouth opened to say something, but promptly closed. Yet again, I couldn't voice anything out. Only the hot wet tears that slowly escaped from my eyes conveyed my feelings. They weren't exactly tears of sadness or anger. No, I didn't understand what I was actually feeling. But I felt relieved from dad's consolation. I felt like... He kind of understood.

"I know you've worked hard and I'm proud of you," dad smiled as he knelt down to my eye level. His fingers delicately brushed the wet hair obscuring my face again. "I'm proud to see that you've grown up so well. I'm proud that you've became strong —physically and inwardly. I'm so proud of you Ruby."

I didn't know what came over me. I felt like I reduced to my younger self, back to when I was slowly adjusting to this world. I stood there and listened while shedding tears helplessly. The back of my right hand covered my tear stained eyes and I cried, and cried like a child.

How long has it been since I felt like this?

How long has it been since I felt... Parental love — a deep emotional connection? How long?

Dammit, how long?

Fuck, I missed it so much.

Dad blotted my face with a soft, thin tissue paper that Yang silently handed him. The lightweight paper pressed against my face until my hand took it. I slowly brought the moist soft paper to my face and continued where he left off.

"Ruby —" Dad paused from hesitation. "I want to show you something."

A pause.

Then I meekly nodded.

The damp tissue paper began losing its fundamental components as I unconsciously tore it into tiny pieces for therapeutic purposes. It was weird seeing myself reduce into a reserve mess. In fact, it's unusual for the Sword Angel to be at a loss for words. However, I didn't know what to do or say because all of these feelings were new to me.

Dad stood at his full height as he straightened out his legs. He glanced at Yang, and Yang returned a worrisome look back. I could see a silent communication they were sharing, but I couldn't interpret their expressions. Dad beckoned us to follow him out the door before ordering Zwei to stand guard of the house. Yang and I closely trailed behind him and we went through a forest at broad day light.

None of us initiated any conversations. Sounds of crunching leaves and our breathing disturbed the tranquil stillness in the air. The ground we trekked on gradually became steep and I could pick up a trace of breeze circling around. From observation, I noticed lush forest trees began to thin out and the land began to plateau. Eventually we made our way through the patch of forest and a wide open field came into view.

Nothing but knee length grass covered the entire land as my eyes scanned across the cliff top. What did dad wanted to show me? It wasn't until I squinted harder that I noticed something at brink of the cliff. Without thinking, I strode further towards the edge of the cliff. I didn't question how heavily cemented my feet were to the floor. I dragged them like dead weight while unconsciously picking up my pace. I felt like it was calling me — beckoning me to come closer. Like a spellbinding siren's call, I couldn't stop myself from being lured closer, almost as if I was lost in a trance. As the gap got shorter, so did the distance for my heart drumming against my chest. The banging got increasingly louder and my heart sped faster. It sped rapidly until it just suddenly... Stopped.

Everything stopped.

My legs.

My heart.

My breathing.

I could practically hear my world practically shattering into a million of irreparable pieces, considering how quiet everything was. The bone-dry sensation in my throat burned like a Vacuo's scorching desert. I could barely swallow, in fact, I could barely even swallow _what_ I was even looking at. Strong knees instantly grew weak until it could no longer be a pillar for my body. In a sickening thud, I dropped down to my knees in front of a dull gray colored memorial stone. A picture of a charcoal black rose was engraved at the top, and under it had etched writings.

 _Summer Rose_

 _Thus I Kindly Scattered_

I didn't want to understand; I didn't want to admit it; I didn't want to accept it, but a crushing pain burned through my head, and forcibly enlightened me of my ignorance. The palm of my sweaty hands clamped both sides of my head, and my finger nails dug into my scalps. I didn't want to accept it. I felt like my mind was being shredded from the inside as more memories tore its way to the surface. My teeth sank into the insides of my lowers lips and raw tears rained down onto the parched dirt in front of the grave. I didn't want to accept it. My knees sank down into the dirt, staining the brim of my dress with its earthly filth. A single cough came from my mouth, then emotional pain burst out, and finally, a screaming sob tore from my lungs.

"Dad — What are you doing?! Let go! Can't you see she's hurt?"

"I know Yang, I know. But please — Trust me. She needs to do this herself."

My hands slithered to the front of my face and gut-wrenching sobs cried into them. Tears trailed between the openings of my fingers, and my ragged breaths stayed detained between the flesh of my palms. Only hideous, heartbreaking sounds liberated itself free from my mouth. I didn't want to accept it.

But ignorance can only go so far.

But I still didn't want to accept it.

I didn't want to accept that my mom — Summer Rose is dead. But memories doesn't lie. The solid proof laying in front of me told no lies. She's gone. She's dead. It's obvious.

Get it through your head.

It's hard though. I didn't want her leaving me. I didn't want one of the most important person in my life be forever gone. But my mind wouldn't let me play tricks. I couldn't lie to myself or deny everything in front of me. Why? Because I _remember._ Summer, Tai, Yang, Zwei, and even Uncle Qrow — I remembered them all, and it fucking hurts to _know_ that I almost forgot.

So accept it.

My lips quivered slightly open, and I only let a quiet sliver of my voice escape my throat.

"She's dead."

* * *

 **This chapter took me awhile because whenever I looked back and reread it, I didn't like it. Right now, I'm still iffy about it, but I suppose it's somewhat acceptable.**

 **Anyways, leave a review and let me know what you think so I know what I can improve on or what I did good on**


	19. Restless

_Clink._

 _Clink._

 _Clink._

I absentmindedly pushed my food around and the tine of my fork raked the glass plate. My lips refused to open and my eyes watched a cherry tomato uncontrollably roll around in circles. Only the cringing friction between my fork and my plate washed the golden silence, and Dad and Yang looked at me worriedly. Ever since we came back from the cliff top, I kept silently to myself. I was constantly lost in thought, and I still am. To put it simply, my mind was like spaghetti. Thoughts were chaotically everywhere, needlessly bouncing back and forth with a sense of unease.

"Ruby?" Dad cleared his throat. The scraping stopped.

"I'm sorry," I sighed. I placed my fork down onto the table. "I need some fresh air."

My chair scooted far back as I stood from the dining table. Without uttering another word, I left the kitchen and excused myself out of the house. It was already late. The sun had already set a long time ago, only to leave darkness behind. I jerked the hood of my cloak over my head, and strolled around the house.

My combat boots trampled over the grass and I scoured the yard in search of something. It wasn't hard to find what I was looking for considering my Faunus trait. My head perked up once I caught a sight of it, and my knees bent low to the garden.

Roses.

The small patch of roses that I started at a young age was still alive. I remembered it was a side hobby that I did to bring life to the dull outskirts of the house. It was a symbol for myself, a representation of my new life. And it seems like dad and Yang have been taking good care of it.

I kept a careful mind of the prickling thorns while my hands reached out and carefully separated the roses from its bush. Once I was done, I left the premises and sauntered out to the wilderness. The silver moon hung at its highest peak and illuminated the starless sky. Even though it wasn't necessary, streams of radiant light chased away the shadows and lightened my path like a guiding lamppost. The wind blew against my hood, and scattered leaves quickly drifted by. It was cold, but not as cold as the nipping frozen air of Atlas.

I trudged through the forest path and made my way to the top of the cliff. Autumn's chilly gale picked up and its rush of air pulled my hood down from obscuring my face in front of the stone.

"Hey mom," I spoke in front of Summer's grave. Anticipated silence answered me back. I let out a breath and knelt down, placing the freshly picked roses before the stone. I sat down and drew my knees comfortably against my chest.

"I'm terrible aren't I?" I continued speaking to no one except to the lone memorial stone. "I told myself like a mantra that I wouldn't forget about you — that you deeply engraved yourself into my memory and into my heart, almost like a silent promise." I then let out a sad wry laugh. "But in the end, I did blatantly forget and I kind of hate myself for that."

"Hell, I even forgot about everyone. I mean, what kind of person forgets her own family? It feels... Disappointing — I'm disappointing. I'm disappointed in myself that I forgot about Dad, Qrow, Yang, and especially you. You... You don't deserve to be forgotten." That last sentence drifted into the wind like a dying whisper.

'You're the greatest mom to me, and great mothers should never be forgotten. You juggled missions, read us stories, baked cookies, and gave us the unconditional love we needed. You've treated me better than —" My teeth gnawed my lower lips and my boots shuffled against the grass until I could find the words.

"Better than my biological parents."

I took a deep breath and my mouth opened again.

"If I told you, you probably wouldn't believe me at first." A wistful sigh brush against my lips. "If only I had a chance to tell you." My eyes then averted from the grave. "I don't... I don't belong here. Not in Remnant. I belong to somewhere far away like another world."

Then a small chuckle escaped.

"Strange right? Sounds impossible. I don't know how it happened, but here I am, a living proof of it. A soul in another body one might say. A dark secret that no one knows except me — well and you now."

My head leaned back and my gaze softened under the black sky. Traces of clouds were scattering about, barely obstructing the vast moon. My eyelids slowly shut and my chest rose and fell, moving along to the rhythmic intervals of my breathing.

"Would you believe me if I told you there's no such thing as semblance in my world? And that we have something called magic, a supernatural power that gives us the ability to cast different elements? Rather than using dust crystals or powders to channel the elements, it requires verbal chants and draws energy from our pool of aura, physically turning it into power."

I chuckled again.

"Sounds like a fairytale doesn't it? Being able to freely cast any type of element without a physical catalyst."

"I wish I could show you." I flicked my wrist, hoping to materialized one of my many weapons. As expected, nothing occurred. "But I can't. And I doubt anyone would believe me if I were to tell them the truth. It'll probably just add to my growing collection of 'less desirable traits'. I'll just be one of those crazy Faunus spewing out fairytale dreams."

My ears wiggled then flattened against my head, and my tail wrapped around my waist.

"You must've had it hard for being a Faunus. I mean I kind of had it hard, and I could only imagine you experience the same. It wasn't until I learned the hard way that Faunus were not kindly accept around the world."

"I thought people would be accepting of each other's races, but wow was I naive. People didn't treat me well because I was just y'know... Physically different. But now, I guess things have gotten a lot better. I'm doing well, and I met new friends to make sure of that."

I finally stood from the ground and stretched my legs.

"I miss you, and I wish you were here. I wish that I could've cherished more of our moments together. And... I wished I had never forgotten."

My hands grasped my hood and I pulled it over my head.

"I'm sorry mom. I'll see you later."

I turned my back towards the grave and left. Soft prints pressed onto the dirt and the soles of my boots flattened the grass as I continued to trek out of the forest. The night's miniscule gust seeped between my cloak and my body, and I shivered from gradual lost of warmth. I kept my head hung down and I pulled the sides of my cloak closer, hoping to recover the heat I just lost.

Talking to her made me felt slightly better, but it still hurts.

There's a thorn still sitting in my heart that stabbed me every single time to remind me of my shameful disappointment. What if I never recovered my lost memory? What if I completely lost all those wonderful moments with her? What if I forget about the rest of my family. What if... What if...

My thoughts stopped.

I can't think about it anymore; I can't dwell on the what ifs.

But I don't know if I could forgive myself that I almost forgot. She was probably cutting close to disappearing from my life forever. The precious memories of the moments we shared together could've vanished. And if they vanished, I wouldn't make any new ones with her ever.

Stop.

Just stop thinking.

But I'm angry at myself. How can I break a promise? I told myself I wouldn't forget about her, and I hate going back on my words. Promises aren't meant to be broken, they're suppose to be kept forever.

Stop.

But I can't stop thinking.

How can I forget someone so important like her? Why can't I forget about my struggling childhood back in my world? Why can't I forget about my biological parents who abandoned me on the streets? Why her? Why them?

Stop.

Soft growls snapped me completely from my trance. My breath hitched suddenly and I quickly glimpsed up to see a handful of beowolves prowling closer to me. I'm out of the forest? How long was I walking for? I instinctively reached out to Crescent Rose behind me, but my hand only grasped empty air. My eyes widened and I could feel a cold sweat slithering down my forehead. Where's my weapon?

I patted myself down and my palm tapped against the hard lump under my corset. I let out a breath of relief and freed the hidden dagger concealed under my combat skirt. The dagger twirled on the palm of my hand, and stopped once I reversely gripped its handle. Its blade pointed down to the ground and its cutting edge faced towards my enemies.

The grimm pranced around in their numbers and howled as they crawled closer. Their glowing red eyes narrowed down at me and squeezed out low vicious snarls from their chest. As expected, they galloped on all four beastly legs and lunged towards me.

And likewise, I lunged back. The sharp tip of my dagger impaled the side of one grimm, and its blade cleanly sliced through its side as I ripped it across its body. I mercilessly strike back and forth, leaving short incisions until the grimm dissipated into particles. In that moment, a number of beowolves surrounded me with its pack and pounced altogether. However, their claws strike nothing but rose petals drifting in the air.

I was faster than them.

Swinging a short blade was faster than swinging Crescent Rose, despite the first unable to deliver consecutive fatal blows. The rate at which I swung my scythe around couldn't keep up with my semblance, thus restricted me from maximizing my speed to its fullest potential.

But now, the shackles broke free and my emotions fueled my strength.

A sound of a shrieking cry resounded through the area as I reappeared and dug my dagger through the grimm's back. It shredded down its spine and I followed it with a round house kick, sending it crashing to its adjacent kin. The cutting edge of my blade found its way to the next victim, and it cruelly tore its throat open. Then my ears twitched, and I spun my blade pointing upwards. In anticipation, I hurled it directly at a beowolf storming behind me.

It staggered a few steps back with my short blade impaled in its chest, and I promptly bolted and planted my left foot onto its body. In one slick motion, my hand tightly gripped the handle and I simultaneously dragged the sharp edge vertically across its chest while I pushed off its body and turned over in the air.

Taking their chance, more grimm sought after me and wildly launched their swiping claws as I seem helpless in the air. Once again, rose petals were shredded from their assault and each grimm slowly fell one by one. Throughout the night, a sea of red roses constantly fluttered everywhere and painted the bleak sky red.

I looked around again, and every beowolf was mercilessly slaughtered. I was standing alone with only traces of rose petals surrounding me. My legs throbbed from pushing over my limits and from overusing my semblance. I released a satisfied breath and I collapsed down, sprawling against the floor on my back. My arm trembled as I brought my dagger to my eye level and watched its silver blade with small crimson tinges gleam under the moon's radiance. Compared to Crescent Rose, my dagger were like slight pricks, almost like the prickles on a rose's stem.

"I think I'll call you... Thorn," I murmured.

Thorn slipped from my grasp and fell onto the grass. My arm fell flatly down to the ground as I no longer have the strength to hold it up. I could feel a fire burning in my lungs as my chest frantically heaved up and down. Short rapid breaths escaped from my dry throat, trying to draw in as much oxygen I possibly could.

"Ruuby!"

"Ruuuby!"

"Where are you?"

"Ruby!"

I turned my head slowly to follow the voice, and I could see Yang running towards me.

"Hey Yang." A small smile crept on my lips as I continued to lay on the floor.

"Jeez, don't worry us like that!" She knelt down before sitting beside me, crossing her legs in the process.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to get some stuff off my chest to mom."

"I know... We were just worried because you left Crescent Rose back at home and you didn't come back for awhile. But I can now see you're fine." She beamed a smile and her arm reached out to pick up the dagger laying haphazardly on the ground.

"Kind of?" I let out a weak chuckle. "I don't know if I can move."

"Here let me help you," she spoke softly. Yang carefully lifted me to my feet and held me steady from my wobbling legs. She then carried me on her back and proceeded to walk towards the general direction of our home.

"Hey Yang?" I broke the silence. My chin rested against her shoulder and my arms wrapped around her neck.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry for not remembering before."

"Don't be. It was never your fault to begin with."

As we got closer to the house, she left me down from her back. My legs were still exhausted, but still operable to walk a flight of stairs to my room.

"I call dibs on showering first," Yang said as she pointed a finger gun at me before opening the door.

"Yaang, I feel so gross."

"Too bad, I called dibs."

If I could lightly punch her, I would. As we strode up the stairs, my ears picked up dad's voice in the kitchen and I paused in the middle of the stairs.

"Not yet. It's not time to tell her now. I know, I know. She just barely got here! Soon, I swear. Just not now. Yeah don't worry, I'll hand her one when I get the chance."

"Ruby?" Yang called out to me from the top of the stairs.

"Qrow, I'll call you back later. If you can, come visit Ruby. She'll love to see you again."

I snapped back and continued to walk up the stairs. Yang had already gathered her things to go shower while I strode into my room. Crescent Rose laid against the wall, and my sister already placed my short blade on top of the table. I sat on the edge of my bed before my door resounded with a knock.

"Come in," I spoke up.

The door opened, and dad came waltzing in the room.

"Hey sweetie," he said. Dad walked towards me with a worried look on his face. His eyes were trailing the mess I made all over my clothes and skin. "You know you shouldn't go out without your weapon. Especially at night." He ran his thumb against the dried blood splotches on my face. "You had us worried."

"I know, I'm sorry. Yang came and told me."

He sat down next to me on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, giving me a side hug.

"Your mom would be proud you know."

"I don't know dad..." I sighed, dropping my shoulders slightly. His soft, but yet strong arms still remained around me while my eyes hung low to the ground. "Even I'm not proud of myself. How can she be proud of me?"

"Hey hey hey," dad murmured softly. "Don't say that sweetie. Your mom would be absolutely proud to see her little girl all grown up. Even I'm proud of you. What's there not to be proud about?"

"How easily I forgot about everyone."

"Listen sweetie," dad cupped around my cheeks and turned my head to face him. "You shouldn't beat yourself on this."

"But —"

"You didn't forget on purpose. I know for the fact that it is the last thing you wanted, and I'm absolutely positive your mom would also think the same."

"I still broke a promise."

"But you didn't intentionally break it."

"Then what if I lose my memories again?" My voice inadvertently raised and I sputtered solemnly. "What if I forget everyone? What if it keeps happening? What if I end up losing my memories forever? Dad, there's so many what ifs and I'm afraid. Afraid that I'll experience the same thing over and over again."

He ran his fingers through the fringes of my hair and brushed them back. "No matter what happens, I swear I'll coming looking for you. But this time I won't stop. I'll quit my job at Signal and find you if I have to," he comfortingly smiled at me. "But just as preventive measures, I think you should have this."

He placed a small notebook on my lap and I glanced at it.

"What's this?"

"When your uncle and I were talking on the phone earlier, we thought you should keep a diary at all times."

"A diary?" I cracked it open and flipped through it, looking briefly at its empty pages.

"Yeah! Keep it on yourself at all times," he repeated again. "You can write down everything just in case."

A smile lifted up from the corner of my lips.

Huh, I guess this could work. I can write down about everyone and everything.

"Thanks dad," I smiled up at him, holding the small book tightly in my hands.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning. Goodnight Ruby." He kissed the top of my head and got up to the door. Before he exited my room, he stood for a couple of seconds to leave another set of reassuring words. "We will love you regardless if anything were to happen. And if your mother was here, I know she'll say the same. I promise."

With that, he gently shut the door behind him.

I transitioned from my bed to the table, and took out a pen before opening the book. The tip of the pen pressed onto the first line, and my hand began moving on its own.

 _Data Log 1_

 _My name is Ruby Rose, and I came from a small island called Patch. I never written in a diary before, or let alone owned one, but today is a first. It's something I'm suppose to have with me at all times as a preventive measures just in case I forget again._

 _Out of the 15 years of my life, today was the most emotionally unsettling. It was a turbulence of various emotions that bombarded me constantly. I reunited with dad but I also remembered who I had also lost. My mother. It was hard to accept it, but I had to. It felt like someone tore my heart out of my chest and crushed it with their heels._

 _I guess you can say it was a bit traumatic and really depressing. Perhaps both could be an understatement of what I felt. But talking with Yang and Dad made me feel a lot better, especially talking with dad. He's the kind of person who knew what to say, and knew what to do._

 _But a part of me feels bad for keeping away the truth. I already told mom when I was alone at her grave, but I don't know if my secret should ever be revealed. Everyone here calls me Ruby Rose, but little did they know I hail from another world. And from that world, everyone calls me the Sword Angel._

 _But really, my name is..._

* * *

 **I swear I am not dead! I'm just extremely busy now that school already started. This story and the rest of my others have not been abandoned. If you don't see me updating for awhile, don't freak out. I'm focusing on school first.**

 **When you feel sad, depress, or feel some sort of unhappiness, you tend to think a lot. Normally these are overwhelming negative thoughts. You know it's not good for you, but for some reason, you just can't help but to continue to dwell on it. That's what Ruby was facing earlier. Negative thoughts plague her mind despite it being unnecessary. No matter how many times she tells herself not to think about it, she does think about it. It's easier said than done.**

 **Also I'm sure I made it obviously clear a long time ago, but to those who didn't notice, Ruby is half OC. You don't know her race and you don't know her name. Sword Angel is not her name, it is her nick name. The only things you do know are what's her world like, the kind of powers she holds, and a part of her childhood.**

 **And I apologize if there are some mistakes in this chapter. It's hard to proofread at like 2:30 AM when normal sleeping time is around 12 AM.**

 **I'll see you next chapter!**


	20. Connection

**I think the hardest part is coming up with a name for the chapter.**

* * *

The weekend had gone by rather quickly.

Dad had informed me that Uncle Qrow wasn't able to make it back to Patch because he was out running a strenuous errand for a close friend. It was a pity, but nonetheless, it couldn't be helped. It was a shame, because I was really looking forward to see him again too.

Throughout the weekend, majority of our stay was pleasant.

We spent our days at home playing board games and catching up. From my time in Vacuo to my brief stay in Atlas, I told them half of everything that had happened during the last five years.

When I merely mentioned General Ironwood's name, Dad choked on his tea, sporadically coughing. He was completely surprised about my encounter with the general and the errands he sent me on. Though I did exclude a few people out of the picture for the sake of the agreement I made back at Atlas.

By the time Sunday rolled around, Yang and I boarded the bullhead to Vale then to Beacon after we gave Dad a hug goodbye. There wasn't any time to visit Patch again, but dad might be able to visit us at Beacon. Since the Vytal festival was a few months away, he was hoping to come watch us, but there were no promises.

"Thirty lien that Blake is reading a book on her bed and Weiss is doing homework."

"Forty lien that Blake is reading a book on her bed and Weiss is in the library doing homework," I wagered.

Yang and I got off the bullhead and were heading straight to our dorm rooms. It was Sunday afternoon, and not many people were walking freely on campus. They were probably trapped in their confining rooms doing last minute homework assignments.

"Isn't that the same thing?" My sister looked at me, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

"No, doing homework in the room is totally different than doing it at the library."

"Okay," Yang snorted. "You're on."

I hovered my scroll over the lock mechanism and a ringing chime beeped in successions once it registered. The bolt robotically unlocked, and I creaked opened the door. Lo and behold, Blake was laying on her belly and reading her book with her legs kicked up in the air.

"Hey Blake! We're back," Yang grinned.

Blake's leg fell back down and she _actually_ gave us her attention after she turned over to the next page in her book.

"Hey," she replied, amber eyes scanning us before returning to her reading.

A smirk rose on my lips as I saw Yang frantically looked around. Her smile simmered into a frown when a certain heiress was nowhere to be found.

"Hey Blake, where's Weiss?" I finally asked. I held up my hand next to my sister, curling my fingers back and forth in anticipation

"In the library doing homework," she answered with her usual low, monotonic tone.

"Thanks," I smiled triumphantly.

Yang grumblingly slapped forty liens onto my hands, and I neatly folded it and stowed it away into my pocket. Blake's bow twitched, and she drew her attention away from her book once more.

"Should I be worried?"She asked cautiously.

"Naah," I waved her off, a sappy smile adorning my face while Yang donned the opposite. "If you guys need me, I'm going to the library to finish the rest of homework." I began to assemble my things into my backpack to set out. "How about you Yang? I know you didn't finish. We can struggle together."

"I'll pass. Struggling with you doesn't seem appealing." I promptly thwacked her shoulder for that teasing comment. "I'm kidding! Blake can help me with homework. She can watch me struggle."

The Faunus placed down her book, and looked at her partner with a deadpanned face. Despite her expression, she never refused as she heavily sighed and slapped her book shut.

"Don't give Blake too much trouble then," I casually shrugged as I turned my back against them.

"Oh I will," Yang devilishly voiced out.

Poor Blake.

I departed from our room and routed to the library. It wasn't hard to find an alabaster haired heiress shoving her nose into her book. She stood out like a sore thumb, but that's because her hair was really noticeable.

"Hey Weiss." I pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. Her blue eyes travelled up momentarily from her studies for a brief second before returning it back to her notes.

"Hello Ruby." Her hands continued to scribbled onto her loose leaf paper. "I see that you're back from your trip to Patch. How was it?"

An outbreak of memories flooded through my mind without any straining effort to summon them. I didn't know how to describe half of my time there without sounding too cheerless.

"Eventful," I merely replied. My ears flicked when her pen stopped rasping against her paper in constant successions. The heiress flitted her eyes to meet mine, and she suspiciously raised an eyebrow.

She probably expected me to ramble on about my trip.

"I got to see my family again," I added a little more but the same expression did not waiver.

She placed down her pen and gave me her full undivided attention. "You don't sound too happy," she frowned, a noteworthy concern evident in her voice.

"Well," I droned, rubbing the side of my neck. "A lot of things happened, and in the end, let's just say I got my memories back."

The heiress blinked slowly in surprise. "And you're not happy that you regained your memories?"

"I am — it's just... There's good memories, and bad memories. The bad memories are just really..." I drew a deep breath and my hand effortlessly motioned in circles to emphasize my point. " _Really_ bad."

Weiss didn't question as she nodded understandingly. "I won't pry anymore since you don't seem comfortable to disclose any further." The point of her pen went back to work, serving its sole purpose to write.

"Thank you."

I took out my books and my pencil, laying them out on the table. My tail grazed the back of my seat as I stared blankly at my empty paper. The tip of my writing implement pressed onto the thin sheet of my paper, ink seeping into circular black blotches, until I promptly placed my pen down.

"What would you do if you couldn't remember your family?" My sudden question disrupted the heiress's concentration, and she laid down her pen once more.

"It would be a dream come true," she answered sourly. The resentful expression overrode what was left of her blank face. Her nose scrunched in disdain, accompanied with frigid cerulean eyes.

"I-I'm sorry," I stammered an apology.

I didn't know my question would hit a nerve. Weiss and I never exactly conversed about our families; it was a topic that never sprung onto the table.

"It's fine," she sighed. "I wouldn't expect you to know."

"But even so, is there no one in your family that you wouldn't want to forget?"

Weiss sat there in contemplative silence while she stared down at her paper. She fiddled with her pen as she twirled it between her fingers. It perfectly revolved around in circles without wavering. The more she thought about it, the faster her pen spun.

"Not even Winter?"

The pen slipped away and clattered against the table. It rolled back and forth on top of her paper until it finally slowed into a full stop. The look of confusion and shock interblended, completely thawing out the harden expression that used to be on her face.

Her cold eyes gradually softened, piquing with skeptical curiosity after she got over her initial surprise. "How do you know about Winter?" Her voice remained calm but yet cautious.

"I never told you?" My ears remained straight when I cocked my head to the side.

Her ponytail swayed side to side when she shook her head. I thought I had mentioned it before, but as I delved deeper into my memories, I recalled Yang cutting me off before I had a chance to point out their uncanny resemblance.

"Remember back at initiation when we were stuck all the way down the ravine?"

"Of course," she firmly answered. "You were insane enough to use highly purified dust to blow yourself up."

Her eyes weren't subtle when they traveled down to my burn scars on my hands. I didn't bother to hide the hideous discoloration of my skin as it was just another number to my growing list.

"You've asked if I've been to Atlas before and I told you that I briefly have," I reminded her. "During my time in Atlas, I happened to run into your sister."

The heiress unconsciously leaned into her elbows, trying to get a clear grasp of my story. I have never seen Weiss this engrossed before. It was a tiny bit adorable to see her aroused curiosity spiking to its fullest

"Your sister cuffed me to put it shortly," I wrapped the story up in one vague description. A grin broke out on my lips, muscles pulling on my cheek, when the intrigue look on Weiss's face momentarily faltered in a scowl.

"What did you do..." There wasn't even a sliver of surprise at the tone of her voice. It was dull and monotonous, almost on par with Blake's.

"I did nothing." I placed a hand over my chest, dramatically over exaggerating a hurt voice. The scowl on her face did not waiver to my unconvincing argument.

"Extensive property damage," I finally admitted with an eye roll.

"Why I am not surprised," the heiress dryly responded. "You destroyed a part of the school in our first encounter. I wouldn't be surprised if Winter had to experience the same tragedy I had."

"Maybe it runs in the family," I joked with a lopsided smile. However, Weiss neither laughed or smiled. "Anyways... " I continued. "She didn't get to experience the same lovely explosion like we did. I just blew up a few buildings."

"You — WHAT?!" The heiress disbelieved shout earned a hissing hush from the librarian. After she politely apologized to the library's curator, she stroke her temples to soothe the arising headache comin. "I should've known that it was much worse."

"Your sister was fine," I assured, hoping to abolish whatever absurd imagination coursing through her mind. "She just got soot all over her white uniform that's all. The real reason why she took me into custody was because I —" Two fingers of each hand drew quotation marks. "'intervened' with her mission."

"Intervened?" Weiss deadpanned doubtfully.

"That's the same exact thing I said to your sister!" I waved my hand in disbelief, accompanied with eyes to match while continuing my story, "I just happened to be there by chance. Caught a trace of dust at the town over and turned out there were a few rebels sprinkling dust like glitter. Next thing I knew it, they wanted to add me into their collection of hostages."

"Long story short, I got really irritated, cleared them out, went to their hide out, and blew it up." I finished with a triumphant smile, nearly gloating my successful accomplishment.

"Of course you did." Weiss stroked her temples again, this time letting the back story sink in. "How was —" She hesitated a little, gnawing her lower lips. "Your impression of Winter?"

It didn't take a genius to see how much admiration and respect Weiss held for her sister. I could discern a slight tremble in her voice, as if it was searching for approval of the one person she probably looked up to.

I hummed a little, sinking deeply into my thoughts as I recollected our time together during the one week mission.

"Better than my first impression when I first met her," I started. It wasn't a lie. After I got through Winter's dignified demeanor, she was actually a nice person. Of course, it took quite some time for us to warm up to each other. "Winter did mention about her sister — well I suppose you — a few times."

"She did?" Her blue eyes lit up like a sun beaming down into a serene ocean. Our homework was long forgotten as we were too engrossed with our discussion.

"Yeah," I nodded. I basked into her oceanic eyes and I could see those orbs urging me go on. "We made small talks and she mentioned about how she had a younger sister and brother. She rambled a little about how she was quite surprised that you chose to be huntress, quite happy actually."

"Happy?" Weiss questioned, barely tilting her head.

I gave her an unanswered shrug because Winter never went deeper than that. "During initiation, remembered how I asked you why you chose Beacon over Atlas?" The heiress nodded. "So if you don't mind me asking — why Beacon? I mean I understand there's preferences, but preferences always makes you consider one over the other."

Her finger traced onto the library's table, drawing figure eights while casting her eyes down. Those oceanic eyes seemed clouded, blocking out the sun that was once shining. "I wanted to get away," she answered softly. Silence breezed by and I quietly nodded.

"You don't need to go any further if you're not comfortable," I smiled. From her answer and her tone of voice, it revealed a lot about her. Everyone carries bags of burdens, not just Blake and I. I wanted to know more about Weiss, but in all fairness, I never revealed anything to her.

"Thank you," Weiss breathed out. "To answer your previous question, I would be devastated if I forgot about Winter. She was the only one who truly cared about my wellbeing."

"Yeah I getya," I tucked my chin between my arms as I leaned forward, somberly smiling. "I guess I felt like — I don't know... Shit? That I forgot about everyone who cared about me. And I guess that's what made me sprung the question to you. I kind of wanted to get a different opinion and maybe get some ideas."

"I suppose — hypothetically speaking of course — I ever forget about Winter, I guess I wouldn't stop trying." The corner of the heiress's lips dipped into a frown. "I'm sorry if I couldn't be any more of a help to you."

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it." I pushed myself back up from my somber state.

"What did..." She paused again in hesitation. "What did you do if you don't mind me asking?"

I couldn't blame Weiss for wavering, considering this was probably out of her normal comfort zone. This was probably the deepest Weiss and I had ever talked about. Most of our conversation were superficial. The things we talked about were mostly academic, sometimes hobbies, and sometimes painful number of lectures

"Like how you answered before," I responded. "I never stopped trying. I mean there were times where I felt like giving up because I felt like my efforts were fruitless. But five years was enough time to stop and to just think."

"Of what?" She curiously asked.

I drew a deep breath.

"I could either seclude myself away from society and probably be alone for the rest of my life, or just keep searching to fill in that empty hole. So... I chose the latter. Being alone didn't sound appealing and I didn't want to carry that empty feeling for the rest of my life, so I kept searching." I smiled, barely shrugging.

Being alone was sometimes painful, but it was definitely tolerable. Even though I tried to convince myself that lone wolf was the best option, there were times where I craved for human or Faunus interactions. It was hard not to because I was so use to people around, especially living for a 100 something years and counting.

"And you found what you were looking for here in Beacon," she nodded as she recalled my story. "In some ways, I understand what you mean. We are social creatures to begin with. It's only natural to have a desire for some kind of social... Intimacy I suppose."

"But being around people isn't the same as being around with family." I glanced away from her to watch students walk through the aisles of bookshelves as I continued to talk. "It's different. For example, how did you feel when Winter coddles you?"

"Coddle?" The heiress raised a high brow.

"You're right," I murmured before I turned back to her. "Winter isn't the type to coddle. Let me rephrase that. How did you feel when Winter is there by your side to protect you from harm or from the world itself."

Her chin rested on top of her palms and her fingers tapped against her cheek, thinking.

"I/you felt secured and could live freely," we said in unison. Weiss paused and I chuckled.

"I felt the same too with Yang," I explained. "There's no more of that suffocating feeling anymore, just warmth. I remembered that feeling, and I missed it so much that it was the only reason that drove me to keep searching even if it became more and more discouraging by the day."

"It's different from being with people. They can't give you that same closure. And I'm sure that Blake, Yang, and I can't give you what Winter gives you. The concept is the same, but the feeling is different," I finished.

"Indeed the feeling is much different," Weiss nodded in agreement. "Even though the feeling is different, it's a... Good different."

I smiled, glad to hear we were thawing out the heiress's frozen walls.

"Cherish those you care about, because they can be gone in a blink of an eye."


	21. Unfolding Mysteries

There was always at least one day out of the month that was absolutely unusual.

Today was one of those days. Professor Port was actually educating the class about grimm rather than going off tangent on his so called amazing accomplishments.

We expected half of the class to be filled with exaggerated stories from his earlier days as a young huntsman, but actually... No. He didn't stray from his teaching today. Everyone in class found it bizarre. Students shared the same confused look with one another before directing their attention back to the professor.

He was actually giving a satisfying lecture.

At first he talked about aura. Then it transitioned to semblances, but he only touched that topic briefly before he delved into core of his specialized field. Grimm. Out of all the classes I had with Professor Port, I had to say that today was the most... Intriguing. It raised questions that never crossed my mind, questions I wondered why I never thought about before.

"Professor?" I raised my hand. Now I had the entire class's attention because it was always Weiss who was asking the questions. I guess it was another bizarre thing to add to their list. "I'm not sure if I heard you correctly, but you said that the origins of Grimm are unknown right?"

"Why yes child! As most of humanity knows it, the origins of Grimm are unknown," he answered, confident as he broadened his chest.

I paused for a few seconds to meditate on that. I knew a handful of things about Grimm, not just how to engage them. That didn't mean I knew its history; it was still only the first semester of school. I was behind on Remnant's history still. That was a no brainer, but I still caught on pretty fast.

"If mankind have been fighting Grimm since the beginning, how come we never found the origin?"

Port paused on my question, and now the classroom was murmuring. I took his silence as an indication to continue.

"I figured that all these years, we should've been close to discovering something. But we're getting more questions than answers. Shouldn't we have uncover a few things by now?"

There was more silence coming from him.

"There's always an origin of where things come from," I explained, and the professor responded with a nod. He was silently stroking his gray mustache while I went on.

"Semblance is the tangible projection of aura."

Without aura, the probability of discovering your own semblance essentially came close to zero. It worked in similar aspects to magic, except semblance was only limited to one per person. No aura, no magic. No aura, most likely no semblance. Simple.

"The source of aura comes from a person's soul."

This was common knowledge. The fundamental laws of aura of my world and Remnant functions the same. Without a soul, there was no aura.

"A soul is born from life itself right when they come out of their mother's womb."

Penny was no exception. Even though she never came out of anything, Remnant somehow had technologies to shove a soul into an object. It wasn't magic, but the results were similar. How? That was something for me uncover later in the future, and I'm sure Dr. Polendina likes to keep his secrets. All that matters was that she had a soul, and that soul came from somewhere or someone.

"Humans and Faunus are the direct source of modernization, not to mention war also. So everything has an origin. But Grimm cannot breed. They don't have reproductive organs."

That earned a few low snickers from some of the immature students in the back of the classrooms.

"So that eliminates that possibility of procreation."

If that were the case, then death rates should have exceeded their birthrates. Their numbers should've been dwindling, but apparently, that wasn't the case. It was quite the opposite.

"Mankind have been fighting them since the beginning, but we're not even close to their eradication. If Grimm does not come from womb, they have to come from somewhere. So I guess I'm wondering why we haven't come close to finding this _somewhere_ or even this _something._ "

This was probably the most disturbing question that came across my mind. The classroom was feeling a little unsettled considering the murmurs were getting louder. My ears twitched as I picked up a few conversations that were exchanged, but that was the least of my concerns.

"Settle down everyone." Professor Port flagged the class. The murmurs weakened until the classroom was once again dead silent. "To this very day, huntsman and huntresses are doing their utmost best to find the origin as they travel all around the world. We are training students to decrease Grimm nest, but they are also trained to report unusual sightings. This might not be a satisfying answer to your question Miss Rose, but it takes time. It takes time to gather the information and to make casual links."

Professor Port was correct. I can attest that for myself.

But really?

For as long as humanity can recall walking the surface of Remnant, there was barely any progress. Considering the output of huntsman and huntresses the academy trains, you would expect the world would have some sort of factual backing on at least something.

"Thank you professor."

He was right, it was an unsatisfying answer.

* * *

Combat class was the last curriculum for today. Professor Goodwitch instructed all students to work with their partners, encouraging us to work on abilities or techniques we have yet to master. Weiss and I collectively agreed to practice hand-to-hand combat, mostly for her benefit.

The heiress had already thrown a few punches in, but they were easily parried. They were a bit sloppy and her attacked lacked — to put it in Yang terms — oomph. But to be fair, we only started to work on it the day before I left to Patch, and briefly came back to it a couple of days after I arrived. I don't expect Weiss to be immediately performing flashy attacks.

"Remember your footwork," I advised, easily blocking another one of her jabs. "The most important thing to hand-to-hand combat is footwork. Balance and control. Learn how to move around in your stance."

She shifted her feet, pivoted, and threw another punch, only to be parried by my forearm. It was better, but it wasn't good enough.

"Don't just aim for my face, there are other body parts that can just be as effective."

 _Thump_.

"Use your legs, don't just focus on your fist."

 _Thump_.

"Quick and compact, you're too slow."

 _Thump_.

"Again, watch your footwork."

 _Thump._

"Is this how you feel when I explicate our academic studies to you?" Weiss asked as swung a kick to my side. I caught it with ease and held her by her ankle. "Hey!" She unsteadily wobbled, trying to regain her stability.

"Nah, this is more fun than studying." I kindly released her leg to give back her sense of balance. "Negate my attacks." I raised my fist to shoulder level and tucked in my chin.

"Right head."

 _Thump._

She successfully blocked my attack.

"Left hip."

 _Thump._

"Great, now counter as you deem fit. I won't go _that_ easy."

I swung a few jabs and slow-moving hooks. Despite how a few blows were predictable, they were appropriate for her current level. She could barely keep up with the parries and had hardly enough time to counter back.

Sparring with Jaune might be suitable for her considering he fell behind. I doubt he had enough experience with hand to hand combat.

But then again...

I threw another jab before I caught a glimpse of Jaune getting nailed in his face with the butt end of Pyrrha's javelin. He fumbled and staggered back, and the gladiator smiled apologetically.

Nope, maybe next time.

He still needed to improve on other things.

I continued to strike Weiss, and my thoughts casually fell back to Professor Port's class. A list of information was constructed and I tried to make sense about everything he had said earlier.

Huntresses and huntsman traveled around the world, but yet we still have uncovered nothing about Grimm. This means there are unexplored areas that we haven't been to. Which was valid considering how large Remnant probably was. But maybe these unexplored areas held answers that could explain the Grimm origins.

No, that wouldn't exactly make sense.

If they do have clues, that means these areas were spawning Grimm. Most of Vale have been already explored, minus a few infested regions that were regarded as extremely dangerous. Vale would probably be free of them by now if they were concentrated in one area elsewhere. However, we still retained the same levels of Grimm outside our borders.

So there has to be something else giving rise to Grimm.

According to their years of observation, they are drawn towards negative energy. Much of this fact proved to be true. But that doesn't necessarily mean they are _created_ by it. If that were the case, Grimm should be spawning inside the cities. Despite the number of negative emotions emitted by inhabitants, there were never swarms of Grimm rampaging directly inside. So that means —

 _Thwack._

A sharp blow struck the side of my cheek and I stumbled down to the floor. My aura absorbed all of the pain, but it didn't stop me from landing on my tail.

I sat there, slowly blinking in realization. "Did you just...?" My brain failed to process everything. My thoughts had wandered too far to the point that I wasn't concentrating on our training.

"I hit you," Weiss breathed quietly in surprise. We shared aporetic glances and I could see a full blown victory smile forming on her face. "I landed a hit."

She actually landed a hit.

I can't believe she actually landed a hit...

I drew both legs, and kicked-up from supine position. I seized the opportunity and took her by surprise as I did a low spinning sweep. She yelped, her stance crumbled, when her feet were no longer secured to the ground. Before she plunged head first, I snatched her hand and she hung motionlessly, a few feet away from the floor.

"Very humble." Weiss rolled her eyes. There was still that underlying victory smile lingering — well, more of a smug face — despite my surprise, and most likely unfair attack.

"Rule number one, don't let your guard down even if your opponent got knocked to the floor," I prudently advised with a smile.

"I'm sure you're just peeved that I managed to land a hit on you." The muscles of her jaw twitched. She was trying really hard to fight off the smug smile revealing.

"Maybe." I shrugged a shoulder, still smiling. "But congratulations, Princess."

She was doing her best to land that hit. I could tell. Beads of sweat rolled down her brows, and her breaths were cut short because her lungs were starving for oxygen.

Weiss scowled at me when she heard her pet name again.

"Don't put your luck though," I chuckled.

She huffed, sending me a hardened glare, the same sharp look that a menacing beast would give. But through that appearance was a harmless animal in actuality. It was very Weiss-like.

"Now are you going to help me up, or let me dangle to my demise?"

I hummed for a split second, and a wicked grin rose. My hand purposefully slipped and she gave out a high-pitch scream, gravity jerking her entire weight down. But Weiss never did dropped completely, only a mere inch away from the floor as my hand securely held against hers.

"Ruby Rose," she breathed out, uneasy from that short scare. "Do that one more time and I will strangle you in your sleep."

"Aww Weiss, I'm just playing! Besides, you wouldn't do that." I finally pulled her straight up and her brows quirked up. Her hand rested at the side of her hip, and she leaned against one leg, giving me that knowing look.

She probably would.

I raised my hands in acknowledgement, and she exhaled triumphantly through her nose. Class was still in session, so it would be best if we didn't — in Weiss's term — dawdle. I put a considerable distance between us before we resumed to our training.

"Let's see if you can land that hit again."

* * *

There was another habit that I grew fond of.

It was neither a good habit or a bad habit, depending on the person's perspective. I had done it back in the other world, and I probably would've done it here as a young kid in this world, but the opportunity never arise. It was a common practice for adventurers, or even hunters to carry out when they're alone. It keeps their hands busy while their mind wandered elsewhere. It was productive in some ways instead of blankly staring into open space.

I grasped a short, thick log, and sat up against a tree. I was outside of Beacon, off to the side of the courtyard. It wasn't even a minute before I took out Thorn from its hiding and pressed its keen-edged blade to strip chunks of the outer lumber. Pieces of timber slowly fell when my blade worked its way.

It was soothing to shuck wood while I was lost in thought, completely different than wandering in a middle of training. Just the way my blade cleanly sliced through the firm wood was calming and pleasurable. There was always that dry crackling noise, and that distinctive wood smell that came with it.

My wrist moved from muscle memories, and my blade carved the log while I resumed my thoughts from earlier.

Grimm didn't came from a place; they're not concentrated in particular regions. They're equally scattered around Remnant. Hot spots only arise when huntresses and huntsman fail to thin out their numbers, letting their pack accumulate over time.

They display animalistic behavior, and followed their natural instincts. Anything that had to do with humans or Faunus were killed on sight. So if humanity was the only target, then it's possible that Grimm were created as a necessary balance for Remnant. Like yin and yang.

The idea of Grimm resembling animals was pretty disconcerting. But according to previous lectures, Grimm being animals possessed by evil spirits was disproven due to new emergent of non-animalistic creatures. So evil spirits was off the list. Maybe some sort of mutation on animals?

No, that can't be true.

Household animals would be turning into Grimm by now. Faunus were the closest ones to these so called animals considering our physical characteristic. We would be experiencing mutations by now unless we have some kind of genetic resistance. Highly doubt it. Someone in this world would've fell by now if it was some sort of mutation.

Grimm were also not born from negative emotions.

So what else can give rise to Grimm?

They have to have an origin. The idea of them sprouting from thin air is ridiculously absurd. That defies the fundamental laws of the world.

However the more I think about it, I defied the laws of Remnant. I'm not supposed to be here, but yet here I am.

But then again, it was all due to magic.

And I'm positive that there's some sort of magic linked in this world. That mysterious girl at the night I came to Vale used magic. She freaken threw fireballs at us with her palms, and it was impossible to cast elements without a physical catalyst in this world. How did she do it? That mystery remains for another time.

Maybe Grimm came through magic, or even semblance.

Mostly anything can be possible through magic. To my understanding, there were only a few spells that did not exist. Semblance on the other hand was questionable. I had never seen anyone who was capable of summoning anything other than Winter. However, semblance was limitless. Anyone could be born with essentially anything. So summoning Grimm through semblance could be a possible factor.

But if that were to be true, then Grimm didn't come from _somewhere_ or even _something_.

That means it came from _someone_.

There was always that one person in the world who wants total annihilation, or even domination. My world was filled with them, so I wouldn't be surprised if people on Remnant thought like that.

But a lot of this could be flawed considering Grimm have been around ever since mankind set foot on Remnant. No one could live for that long. Not even magic can prolong life.

Maybe magic to summon Grimm was passed down from generation to generation?

It was a possible factor. If Grimm were to rise through the usage of magic, then it was possible to pass it down to their disciples. How? Maybe through technology. I mean after all, Dr. Polendina was able to build some kind of machine to retain a soul and shove it into a man made robot.

So that leaves me with a few hypotheses: One, Grimm were an essential part of Remnant to create an equal balance. We are the yang, and they are our yin. This means that they will forever be born through darkness to maintain balance, making darkness as their origin. This suggest Grimm was impossible to eradicate which seems to be true so far since we're not making any progress. Eliminate one, and another appears somewhere else. Two, Grimm came from someone through the work of magic or semblance. And three, Grimm exceeded my expectations and they do not have an origin as they are born through thin air.

That last hypothesis shouldn't even be on that list considering it was highly unlikely. But it was best to keep an opened mind. There are a lot of things I still don't know about Remnant, but I'm becoming more curious to find out.

My ears twitched and my hands paused from its work.

"You know," I spoke loud so the person could hear me. "Being sneaky doesn't really fit you, especially when you're trying to sneak up on a Faunus. I can hear you, and I can smell you."

"And I thought the purpose of showering was to erase that repulsive sweat smell," the person snorted. Her heels crunched softly against the grass as she made her way towards me.

"If it makes you feel better, you smell nice."

"Good because that was cordon bleu shampoo I used, imported from the finest shop in Atlas." She sat beside me, her legs rested against its side.

"In other words, expensive," I paraphrased, shooting her a smart-ass smile.

Weiss rolled her eyes at me, gently exhaling through her nose. "What are you doing?"

I held up the wood for her to see. Much of the design was sloppy, mostly because I was really rusty. It was suppose to be a behemoth, a regal beast that shook the land in my world. It was just as ferocious as any other dragons. But I suppose my craftsmanship didn't do the beast justice. It has been at least 15 years since I saw a behemoth and 15 years since I carved wood.

"Wood shucking," I answered.

A distant memory arise, a memory that I thought I had long forgotten.

 _"Hey Captain, what are you even doing?" The woman stood before me with overwhelming curiosity. She leaned forward, hands innocently clasped behind her back, and looked down at my artwork.  
"Wood shucking," I answered. "It's a behemoth. See?" I showed it to her and she scrunched her face.  
"It looks like a puma..."  
"Way to hurt my pride..."_

I inwardly sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. I stroke it, kneading my skin to erase my thoughts.

Push it down.

Push it down towards the dark depths where it could no longer come back.

"Is something wrong Ruby?" The heiress asked, a look of concern gracing her.

"Yeah, I just remembered something." I tossed the wooden figurine in her hand to change the subject. "Never thought I can do something like this did you?"

"What is this...?" She rotated the artwork in her hand, turning it to eye the small details. Her brows furrowed together to mentally analyze what she was looking at.

"It's a... Puma?"

"A puma?" She deadpanned, dropping her arms back to her lap, and gave me a skeptical look. "Puma do not have horns growing out of their heads, or let alone fins or whatever these triangles on its back."

"Creative art?"

"You sound very confident."

"It's hard when you're judging my artwork," I huffed. I took back my wooden figurine and worked my blade against it again. I was almost done. It wasn't the best, but it was pretty impressive considering it was a quick work. "You want to give it a try? It's tougher than it looks."

"What am I suppose to do?" She asked, her curious blue eyes watching my blade flayed through the wood easily.

"Get a thick wood and I'll show you," I chuckled. She did manage to find a piece of wood after awhile. When she sat down, I handed her my blade. "Take Thorn. Careful, it's sharp."

"Leave it you to name your weapons," Weiss softly chuckled, shaking her head.

"Hey, I like to take care of my weapons. They're like... An extension of me. It makes me who I am."

It was true. My weapons were an extension of me, quite literally.

"Sounds very you. So, what do I do now?"

"Shuck," I simply answered. She gave me a dead stare and I huffed. "Okay fine. Imagine a picture." She paused then nodded for me to continue. "Now take a thin layer of the timber, and work your way with it. Remember, thin layer." The sharp edge of Thorn dug into the wood and her hand turned white from the amount of pressure she was applying.

"I think it's stuck..." She frowned. She tried tugging it out now but it wouldn't budge.

"You just dug way too much into the wood," I said, matching the same frown as her. "Here, hand it to me for a second. The last thing I want is you with a missing finger." I took back the lumber, and tried to pull out my dagger. I attempted many times, but it was somehow fastened it there.

"Yep... It's stuck."

* * *

 **Recall that the Sword Angel's guild specialized in finding information, or at least processing it. So she's using past experience to analyze the information to make hypothetical deductions.** **I'm sticking with the idea that Grimm cannot breed. If they do, I'm sure someone would be bound to see an appendage hanging down by now.**

 **There are many reasons why a person likes someone. There is the superficial like which is based on appearances. There is one based on a person's personality, and many more. Way back in the chapters, Ruby says she doesn't know why she likes Weiss. There's more to it than just her pretty face. Well, now we're slowly going to know why.**

 **To help with imagination, the behemoth I'm thinking of is from Final Fantasy, creator of Square Enix.**


	22. Striking-Through Our Past

_I liked her._

 _We were inseparable for a given moment of time. We joked and laughed, shared things together, poked fun of each other, and was never afraid to playfully downright insult one another. She became my shining star. I often kept her in my peripheral vision so my restless gaze can wander back to her. Every time my brown eyes laid on her, the accumulated tension and the stress gradually alleviates. There was always that one optimistic person in a guild and she fitted the bill. When the world seemed dark and empty, she finds something positively good, and somehow, the world lights up seeming bright and wonderful again._

 _It's amazing honestly. There were times that we were polar opposites. Me sometimes being a sarcastic asshole and her being a cunning but yet angelic woman. She was strong, not exactly in terms of aura and physique like me, but her character was something else._

 _I knew our feelings were mutual. Hell, we even held our gaze longer than we should have. But holding romantic feelings for her was a silly mistake. Not because I was her captain and she was my subordinate, but something far more complicated._

 _So I stopped and pushed her away._

* * *

The Vytal Festival drew near. Banners and all sorts of decorations proudly hung around the city of Vale for display. It was weird to see Vale so colorful and festive. To celebrate the coming of students from different kingdoms and the festival's anniversary, many of the shops offered discounts.

In other words, Weiss wanted to go shopping.

"I hate shopping," I grumbled, attempting to sound bitter and bored. I dragged my feet across the sidewalk in hopes everyone will get my message.

"Oh hush." Weiss strode next to me with bags in tow. We walked side by side with Yang and Blake just following right behind us. "We aren't just shopping for clothes. There are other necessities that we should buy before the tournament."

"Like...?"

"Dust," Blake answered blandly but yet amused. "From all that explosion during your private lesson with Weiss, I'm sure you've depleted her company's stalk."

I raised a finger to make a counter claim, but my ears fell flat and my finger slumped. Weiss and I worked on hand to hand combat during Professor Goodwitch's combat class and then practiced with dust later on the day. I have to admit, there was a few explosions here and there. Blake was probably right even though she exaggerated a bit too much. But I'm positive there was enough dust to go around for Weiss to splurge on. I mean... She is suppose to inherit the dust company after all.

"She's... Improving," Weiss weakly defended. "She has the basics down. It's not difficult to empty a cartridge infused with dust. But with that wild mind she has, she's just currently... Experimenting."

"Ooo," Yang chimed into the conversation. "Is she making melted snow cones? Cause that's all I see when you two come back."

Unfortunately, that was... Somewhat true. There were times some explosions happen and there were some times Weiss unexpectedly got caught in the aftermath. I came out unscathed, but that's because I had my aura up almost at all times. Weiss finally learned her lesson and started following my example.

"Blame your sister that black is impossible to wash off on white," Weiss muttered.

Hence, why we are shopping today.

"Maybe black suits you," I wryly smiled. We turned on the corner of the block and headed straight down. Weiss led the group as she seemed to know where she's going.

"Try yellow," Yang suggested mirthfully. "If I can look fantastic, then maybe you can look just as good _but_ less than me."

"Or red," I butted in to give her a different option.

"No offense to Blake, but gothic and emo?" She batted an eye to Blake before deadpanning back to me. "No thank you." Then she turned to Yang. "I'm not planning to do a color scheme of everyone's ur—"

"Don't finish that sentence," Yang dropped her lips into a frown faster than an anchor in the ocean. Like how a child would do, Weiss motioned to her lips and pretended to zip them while tossing away the imaginary key. "Next thing you know it, you're going to say that red looks like menstruation."

"Eww..." I remarked lamely. "Really Yang?"

I was hoping to go for the romantic sexy look. I never thought I would be the color of... Bleegh...

Yang shrugged back and pointed a blaming finger back at Weiss. "She started it."

"I'm not that crude," Weiss huffed and turned her cheek to the other side.

"You finished it," Blake justified logically to Yang.

"Happy pick on Yang day," Yang dryly announced as she waved her hand back and forth as if she was holding a celebration flag. "When did you get all buddy-buddy with Weiss?"

"When we found out we have something in common," Weiss answered in place of Blake. "Our dry sense of humor."

"By the way Ruby," Blake turned to me seeming more serious than our banters. "What were you experimenting?"

I threw a hand at the back of my neck and started rubbing sheepishly. "Well, I was thinking of trying to infuse dust into my semblance. I thought I could be some hot trailblazer running around. But —" I shrugged a bit in defeat. "Something's not working. Weiss is giving me all the lessons she could too."

"She took the idea after she saw us incorporate dust into our semblance, Blake," Weiss further explained. "While I truly believe it's possible to achieve, Ruby just needs more practice."

"Which is probably why we're getting more dust right about now," I added on top of that.

"Wow," Yang whistled with an approving nod. "Instead of burning into flames, you think I can give everyone frostbites? Maybe I should join your sessions."

Weiss snorted. "Ask Blake since she's probably the next best candidate on the list. I have enough on my hands with your sister."

"Maybe we can do some team exer—" My sentence dropped dead in its tracks as well as my legs.

I paused and examined the dust store covered with yellow caution tape around it. There were broken glass all over the floor from the shattered window. From what it looks from where I was standing, everything on the inside was overturned.

What the hell happened? The dust store was fine the other day ago...

Puzzled and shocked, we stayed quiet and picked up the conversation exchanged between the two detectives.

"You think it's that random crook running loose?" One detective mentioned.

I furrowed my eyebrows at his guess. It was a possibility no doubt about it. That Torchwick dude had been running around trying to rob every dust shop in Vale. But there wasn't any evidence to prove it. It could've been anyone adopting his criminal behavior.

"What do you guys think?" I asked the others.

"I'm placing my chips on that criminal Torchwick," Yang put her cents in.

"It could be anyone honestly," Weiss shrugged.

I looked at Blake who was standing still lost in thought. "Blake?"

"I..." She hesitated and lowered her gaze to the corner of her eyes. It seemed like she wanted to say something but she seemed uncertain. "I'm not exactly sure."

"I guess there's one way to find out," I murmured. I strode up towards the store, but I could still pick up the questioning voice from Weiss right behind me.

"How is she planning to figure it out?"

Yang answered her question. "Ruby has a heightened sense of smell. Probably better than most Faunus around here. If you need to track someone, Ruby is the best option you have."

"Excuse me," I made my way to the detectives first before entering the store. Yang, Blake and Weiss followed right behind me. "You think my friends and I can take a look around in the shop?"

The two detectives eyed us like some children trespassing on their turf.

"Sorry kid, this is for the professionals," one detective automatically stated.

"What if we can help out?" I gave him a reason to take into consideration.

The other detective gave a wry laugh and removed his sunglasses. "I doubt it. For all we know, it's probably the _White Fang_." The way he punctuated his words and the look he gave me, I know all too well. He flicked his eyes at all of us, but they lingered longer towards me — the supposedly only Faunus in our group.

I deeply frowned, almost letting off a low growl

"Yang, let me handle this." Weiss placed a hand on my sister. Yang too was infuriated. Her eyes narrowed and she kept balling and unclenching her fist, fighting off the urge to hurl her fist at the man.

Weiss boldly stepped forward and her 'bitch' face immediately took over. Her eyebrows fell straight flat and her lips pressed firmly in a white thin line.

"Apologize." She didn't ask; she flat out _demanded_.

The detective raised an eyebrow at Weiss, his eyes becoming more narrow at the standoff they were having. Despite how Weiss was probably a foot shorter than him, the aura circulating around her made her look and feel probably ten feet tall.

"Excuse me?"

"I do not remember stuttering," the heiress placed a hand on her hips and cocked them. Then she proceeded to lift her chin in an impudent manner. "I said apologize. My friends and I do not appreciate what you're implying." She glanced over her shoulders. Blake expression flattened at his offense, and it did not escape any one of us.

"What are you going to do?" He smirked, silently laughing at the little girl. I want to wrung him like a wet towel. "Get me fir—"

Weiss pulled out her Beacon identification card between her fingers, and it was her turn to smirk back. "I can and I will get you fired."

Startled, the detective took a step back after he squinting his eyes at the card. "M-Miss Schnee. I-I..."

"You what?" She remained steadfast.

"I-I..." He stuttered, trying to find the right words.

Irritated and impatient, Weiss tapped her foot.

"I apologize," he quickly lowered his and his cheeks colored red in humiliation. He marginally lifted his chin and barely looked me in the eyes. "I apologize for making such awful implications."

"And to her," Weiss pointed a thumb to Blake, her stern expression did not falter. The detective gave a blank stare as to why he needed to apologize to the girl with the black bow tie.

"Weiss it's ok—"

"I apologize to you as well Miss." The detective flinched before quickly making an apology for something he wasn't quite sure after Weiss impatiently narrowed her eyes down at him.

"Good, now excuse us while we take a look in the shop." Weiss fearlessly strode pass the two and the three of us followed behind her in awe of what she was capable of.

"But —" He quickly snapped shut up when Weiss shot a finger in the air to silence him, her back still turned towards him. The distance between us increased as we continued to make our way through what used to be the front entrance of the shop.

"Thank you Weiss," Blake bashfully murmured. In a single filed line, we ducked underneath the yellow caution tape that was specifically labeled 'Do Not Cross.' "That was very nice of you to defend us."

"Of course, that's what teammates do right?" Weiss carefully stepped over a broken table and wooden shards.

"Nice Weiss strikes again!" I casually commented on the side.

"I will make you write me a five page essay when we get back."

"Just kidding..." I nervously murmured.

Weiss rolled her eyes at me with a latent smile and returned back to what she was saying before I interrupted her.

"If you still think I hate Faunus, I really don't. That changed after getting to know you a bit more and spending much of my time with Ruby. You two greatly influenced my opinion. "

"That's actually... Really sweet of you to say." Blake spoke quietly. "I'm glad we were able to."

"But don't get me wrong. I still do harbor a strong dislike towards the White Fangs and anyone still associated with it. But you did informed us that you weren't a part of the organization anymore didn't you?"

Blake nodded her head.

"Then it's settled. Besides, they were making baseless accusations."

"If you haven't stepped in, I would've ended everything with my fists," Yang smiled appreciatively to the heiress. "That would've probably landed me in heaps of trouble. So, you have my thanks."

"I would've joined Yang for the wild ride," I chuckled. "So makes that three thanks."

"W-We didn't come here to thank me did we?" Weiss almost stumbled in her words from the gratitude we were giving her. She quickly turned towards my general direction. "I thought you came in to have this all nicely figured out? Don't tell me I wasted my efforts to get us in here."

"Right right," the corner of my lips quirked up after I got a taste of Weiss's modesty.

I glanced around and took note of our surroundings. It was surprising to see how just a single night can ruin a store entirely. The door was completely knocked down. Literally its hinges were ripped off from the walls itself. Tubes that stored finely powdered dust were drained empty. Shards of glass dangerously sat on the floor from the shattered glass case. Shelves and cabinets were overturned and somewhat damaged. And empty crates scattered around the room.

"Color me impress," Yang said after she drank in the sight of the ransacked store. She retreated to the safest area of the room and kicked back against the wall. "The detective was really afraid of you. More afraid than Ruby threatening Cardin with a fork."

"You're over exaggerating," Weiss shifted her gaze the other way. "Cardin cowered more than he did. Besides, it's the name he's afraid of. Not me."

Staying silent but yet attentive to the conversation, I crouched low and drew in a long sniff. There were multiple odors in the room that collided with each other. They were faint and hard to identify, but at the same time, they were easy to distinguish.

"You should give yourself more credit," Blake insisted while carefully inspecting the store and its damaged furniture.

"Yeah, and have you seen the way you looked?" Yang shot a disbelieving glance.

"And did you not see the smile on his face that lingered until he saw the bolded six letter words? Must I really spell it out to you?" Weiss deadpanned back.

"What's wrong with being a Schnee?" I finally asked, but still focused on my current task. I straightened my knees and carefully trudged around the room, breathing in and homing in on the scent. At the corner of my eyes, I saw Weiss turned to my direction.

"There's nothing exactly wrong with it per se," Weiss sighed. "It's just a name that everyone associates me with."

"You _are_ technically born under the name," Blake stated the obvious. "But that's not all you are. It doesn't accurately _define_ you."

"Wise words from Blake," I agreed after giving a last few more sniffs. My lips pulled into a frown when I placed the pieces together. Blake wasn't going to be happy with what I have to say.

"Oh? What makes you think that?" Weiss seemed unconvinced at Blake's comment. "When people think of Schnee, they think of a powerhouse, a powerful energy supplier to the world. And that's pretty much who I am."

"You're not wrong. That's the first impression they have because that's _literally_ what your family does for a living. But your background shouldn't be the one to define who _you_ are," Blake gave her something to think about. "It's like me being a part of the White Fang. You saw them as an organization that terrorized your family while Ruby saw them as something that stole a part of her life.

Blake's ribbon slumped when she lowered her amber eyes, her voice softening. "But that's not me, and I don't want to be branded with that. I don't want to hurt anyone."

The room remained silent at Blake's confession. She was similar to Weiss, concerned over what people thought about her. Her past background could've changed many people's opinion easily. As for Weiss, she wasn't far much different. She carried the Schnee's name and that's what people saw her as. Whether it was stained with sins or not, she had to carry that burden.

"You're not," I placed a reassuring hand on Blake's shoulders. I watch her bow flicker when her ears perked. "You're different. We're all different here." My eyes made its way to every single one of them. "Our past doesn't always define who you are. What matters the most is the present."

"So..." I gestured Yang to come towards to the middle. She removed herself from the wall and made her way over. "Both of you should give yourself some credit. I'm certain that every one of us in here can agree that our impression now was different than the previous."

My team gave me a satisfied smile as they seemed content with what we had to share altogether.

"Found anything Ruby?" Yang asked me once it was appropriate to get back to the topic of why we were in here in the first place.

"Yeah..." I nodded my head. "As anyone could've guessed, there are three things that could've been in here. One, Grimm. Two, humans. And three, Faunus. Obviously Grimm is out of the option considering there was no wide spread panic in the town. So what does that leave us?"

"Humans and Faunus," Weiss easily deducted.

"Bingo. I picked up two scents: humans and Faunus."

"But they could be customers or maybe the shopkeeper itself," Blake tried to defend as she seemed a little panicked at what she was about to hear.

I shook my head. "The smell is overrun by Faunus. It's difficult to believe that most of these customers were Faunus. I'm sorry Blake."

Blake face fell as her fears came true. "The White Fang..."

"How many other people can you pick up?" Yang asked when she realized I said two scents.

"Hard to tell." I gave her a clueless shrug. "It could've been the shopkeeper or maybe someone else. It's really mixed in there."

"Then can you track them?"

I shook my head once more to Yang's question.

"The scent is pretty faded. It's distinguishable but faint. Most likely it wouldn't lead me anywhere because the track is almost dead."

"Well... This is a pretty much a cold case," Weiss sighed. She cocked her hips and frowned when her blue eyes glazed around the mess once more.

"Blake," I turned to the other Faunus. "When you were back in the White Fang, why did they needed dust?"

It was her turn to sigh when she scavenged through her memories. "Like all projects need: power and money. Selling dust help aid future projects while it enhanced their manpower. Kills two birds with one stone."

"But..." I motioned my hands in circles for her to continue. I knew she wanted to say more but she was hesitating.

"But... I don't get why target this small shop," she answered truthfully. "They usually target large shipments like freight trains and ships. That was the last time I remember —"

 _"What?"_ Weiss deadpanned at Blake. "You were part of that raid?"

"Sorry..." Blake guiltily shrunk her head.

"Ladies," Yang snapped her fingers to get back onto topic. "Let's not kill each other now that some of us are atoning."

"The past is the past," Weiss murmured as she rubbed her temples.

"Then this case is pretty easy to crack," I justified. "Find a White Fang and ask what they're doing."

"Seriously?" Weiss raised her eyebrows. "You think you can frolic into their rooms, have tea, and ask what kind of activities they'll be doing next?"

I mean... Technically it's possible considering Blake and I are Faunus. I'm sure we can bond over something unless I murder them.

"I think what she meant is find their next target site, grab a few hostages, and interrogate for information," Blake explained as she caught on what I mean.

"There's still a lot of dust stores..." Yang trailed off, believing it was impossible to hunt them.

"Or you can think bigger," Weiss took out her scroll and began going through it in search for information. "There's a large Schnee shipment coming in today and it should arrive sometime around evening."

"So it's settled," I smiled proudly when we came to a conclusion. "We camp at the docks. If White Fang or someone comes through, we give them a run for their money. If not, then Weiss can pick up some dust from a few crates."

"I am not stealing from my own company," Weiss huffed as she folded her arms.

"Is it really stealing though..." I retorted back. "It's technically yours."

"W-Well..." The heiress's expression faltered.

I held a chuckle when even she couldn't answer it and became more confused at the thought.

"Alright so let's head out then," Yang said.

We followed her right out of the store and made our way to the docks. I glanced up to the bright sky and squinted my eyes when it got closer to the sun. I blocked its shining rays until it casted a shadow over my eyes.

I watched as a flock of crows flew by.

* * *

 ***Throws graduation cap***

 **Exactly one month since I _officially_ finished college and now I have a bit of free time... Ish. You can go into my profile to get a full outlook of what I've been doing and why it took me awhile. If some of you forgot about some content, then you are welcome to PM me and I can give you some kind of summary. I don't know when the next chapter will be out, but I'm working on it. **

**Thank you for your long patience.**


	23. Totally Not Jealous

It was interesting how people can be oblivious to their surroundings. You would expect that a Faunus with enhance sense of hearing would notice everything. Their amplified sense of smell should detect things and conditions around themselves.

But no.

Apparently I'm guilty of this as I completely ran into someone when my teammates and I decided to head straight to the docks. I rounded a sharp corner at the end of the block and BAM — I walked right into someone.

Not going to lie, it kind of hurt. Whoever this person was, is either really buff or just really solid.

I held my scrunched up face with my hand and silently hissed at whoever knocked me down. My face felt bruised and I could hear a bunch of concerning 'are you alright' simultaneously coming from Weiss, Blake, and Yang.

A hand reached out to my forearm, and just from the scent and that certain touch, I could tell it was from Weiss. She was attempting to pick me up as I literally sat flat on my precious tail. Off to the side in the mind, I found it even more strange how I couldn't pick up the scent of whoever bumped into. Basically everyone had a certain scent to them. Maybe except for —

"Friend Ruby!"

Yeah... Of course. Speaking of the devil.

The person of said voice easily scooped me off the floor and twirled me around in circles. My teammates luckily ducked in a nick of time before they got bulldozed by my flying legs.

"Hi Penny," I barely peeled my eyes open as it was difficult. The obnoxious wind kept on getting into them when she twirled me around in circles.

"It has been far too long!" She kept twirling me and twirling me. I was getting kind of dizzy with all the twirling.

"Yes..." I croaked out. I felt like puking. "You think we can stop spinning for just a split second?"

"Oh certainly!" Penny gently placed me down before I felt terribly sick in the stomach.

When my feet did touch the sweet floor, I couldn't keep myself still. I was unsteady and off balance as my legs stumbled left and right. I sloshed around until Yang managed to hold me still before I end up crashing onto someone.

"Who's this?" Weiss eyed her carefully.

"That's Penny." I rubbed my face hoping to massage away the uneasy feeling. Yang stroke my back hoping I would recover faster from the dizziness.

"Sal-u-ta-tions!" She saluted us a greeting and gave us one of her winning smiles.

"Umm okay..." Yang felt how socially awkward this girl was.

"Penny, did you end up losing your way from Atlas to Vale?" I asked her.

"Atlas?" Blake hesitantly repeated.

Even Blake knew how absurd that sounded, but honestly, that was a possibility. After all, Penny has a bad sense of directions. She could've wandered out of Atlas and over the ocean to Vale for all I know.

"No, I flew here!" Her smile remain when she answered my question.

"What...?" I deadpanned.

I pictured Penny with robotic wings or those dust propulsion backpacks that I saw in some magazine. Flying over the ocean... Geez, her additional modifications are making her more ridiculous than necessary.

"First time flying on a bullhead was sen-sational!"

Oh. Duh. That's what she meant.

"Wait," Weiss knitted her brows. "Are you participating in the tournament as well?"

What?

"I am combat ready!" Penny squared her shoulders and saluted once more. She carried a more serious look on her face.

Great.

We're screwed.

I had given Dr. Polendina a few suggestions that he could've touched up on Penny after she short circuited moments after meeting. Most of these suggestions were combat related.

"Your dad let you?" I wrinkled my nose at why the hell General Ironwood approved the idea of sending such a top secret creation out to the public. The Vytal tournament was suppose to be aired worldwide. One minor slip up could easily expose her.

"Yes he did!"

"And they let you wander around in Vale?" I skeptically asked.

"Yes they did!"

There was a hiccup, and I frowned. I never knew machines could even hiccup. Dr. Polendina did a superb job on making her so human-like.

"Without supervision?" I added on top.

"Yup!"

She hiccup again.

"Should I be worried?"

"Nope!"

Another hiccup.

"Um... Do you want water for your hiccups?" Yang asked Penny when she noticed she had a bad case of them. "We can always run to the store to get a water bottle or something."

"Oh that sounds lovely!" Penny clapped her hand at my sister's kind offer. "But I'm deathly allergic."

"What?" Blake sharply turned her head at her statement.

"OKAAAY," I intervened hopefully in time that they wouldn't catch on. I was sure enough that I was growing white hair all over my ears considering the stress I was feeling. "I think we should get going to the docks now."

"But friend Ruby!" Penny seemed completely disheartened. "It's been too long. I missed you so much!"

"I concur with Ruby," Weiss seemed strangely annoyed. "It's best we take our leave now as we have important matters to attend to."

"Where are you guys heading to?" Penny cocked her head.

"To the docks," I repeated when Penny seemed to missed it previously.

"Ooo," she cheerfully clapped her hands. "Am I allowed to join in on your adventures as well?"

"No."

"Sure."

"What?" Weiss hissed quietly at me when our replies clashed. "Why should we be bringing her?"

"I don't see why not," I scowled upon Weiss's unusual behavior. "More in numbers just in case we do bump heads with anyone."

"And what if she gets in our way?"

I silently chuckled to myself. Oh Weiss... You have no idea what Penny is capable of.

"Well you see Weiss —"

"Oh dear!" Penny suddenly exclaimed. "I think your friend is in trouble!"

"Who's in trouble?" Blake was the one to ask.

Penny's eyes directly pointed at Weiss, and we turned our heads to see what seemed to be the problem. Weiss furrowed her eyebrows, questioning why everyone was staring back at her so suddenly.

"What?" Weiss dryly asked.

Weiss seemed to be fine for the most part. She wasn't on fire. She wasn't bleeding to death either. So I don't exactly know where Penny is going with this.

"Her estrogen levels increased dramatically. Her blood pressure also shot up as well," Penny continued on as she kept eyeing Weiss strangely.

"W-What?" Weiss blinked when Penny started to analyze her through and through.

"Oh dear!" Penny gasped. "Her heart rate sharply increased."

"T-That's ridiculous," Weiss hastily rebutted.

"Should I run to the store and get some medicine?" Yang asked Blake in hopes she would know what to do. But Blake just shrugged as she seemed confused as my sister was.

"Weiss are you okay?" I asked in concern. I placed the back of my hand to gauge her temperature, making sure she didn't come down with a fever. Throughout the day, she seemed fine. Unless she was putting up a high and mighty act and was actually sick.

"Oh her heart rate increased again," Penny said in surprised.

"E-Enough," Weiss stammered as she brushed my hand away before confronting Penny. "How would you know all of this anyways?"

"The power of the internet?" Penny hiccupped before she tilted her head in an innocent manner.

Sounds like bullshit to me.

"Nonsense!" Weiss countered. "Internet can't gauge my health levels."

"The power of a scroll app?" She hiccupped once more.

Smells like bullshit.

"Now I think about it..." Yang seemed a little convinced on Penny's statement. "There are scroll apps that can count how many steps you take in a day and measure your health. Not exactly as extensive as Ruby's friend... But maybe she got something similar?"

"Oh yes!" Another hiccup. "Headmaster Ironwood prototyped a nifty gadget for Atlas's hospitals... Which I have with me right now!" A hiccup.

This is definitely bullshit.

"Atlas is advancing in their technology," Blake nodded in agreement. "But I thought you said it was a scroll app. Now it's some kind of hand held gadget?"

Kudos to Blake for being so observant. She was quickly seeing through Penny as the robotic girl was failing to follow up her justifications.

"U-Uh..." Penny stumbled in her words. "It seems you have mistaken me!"

She made a yet another unsuccessful recover.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. "Penny specializes in a lot of technology, which is why she's reading Weiss so easily," I told them. Part of it was true with a sprinkle of bullshit. But hey, I had to pull something out of my ass.

"How do you know all of this?" Yang questioned interestedly.

"I went to Atlas a little bit before I came here," I explained. "I told Weiss already, but yeah. I bumped into Penny during my trip, got to know her, and now she's fond of me."

"Fond?" Weiss repeated before merely scoffing. "More like attached."

My ears folded back when I picked up a sour tone in Weiss's voice. "Yes, she's fond." I steeled my eyes at Weiss. She glossed over me quickly before darting her eyes at Penny in hostility. "That's because she doesn't socialize with anyone else."

"Fantastic," she flatly retorted. "You two can be best friends."

I shared a look with Blake and Yang. They didn't seem to understand why Weiss was acting the way she was considering the blank stares and shrugs they've been giving me.

"Weiss," I sighed. "I don't get where this coming from."

"Neither do I." She sharply twisted her body and went off in one direction alone.

"Did I do something wrong to offend her?" I turned to what's left of the remaining group.

"Maybe she's on the time of the month?" Yang threw in the idea. Generous, but not as helpful.

"You should probably go after her..." Blake suggested. "The only person who would know is Weiss. No one is capable of reading her complex mind other than herself."

I scratched my head and heavily sighed once more. Everything was fine and dandy until her behavior changed. Weiss was nice and friendly during our time spent in the ransacked shop. But it easily turned around when Penny popped up. Then again, Penny didn't really do anything wrong unless you count twirling me around as some kind of harassment. But that's ridiculous. Penny was just excited to see me. There was no excuse for Weiss to get angry unless she's —

Oh my god.

Maybe Weiss is jealous.

"I think I might have a clue..." I murmured. "Do you think you two can watch Penny?"

"Are you sure?," Yang seemed hesitant about being left with a socially awkward girl. She took a quick glance at Penny with the corner of her eyes. Not surprisingly, the girl seemed aloof as she admired a fluttering butterfly.

"Yeah," I nodded. "Penny's harmless but curious. And sometimes... Curiosity tends to kill the cat."

Blake deflated when she heard that.

"Yep, we can take it from here." Yang shot me a thumbs up

"Thanks!" I sharply turned around but not before waving off. I took off in search of Weiss.

She couldn't have traveled that far.

* * *

I stand corrected.

She did ventured pretty far, but I wasn't deterred when my nose could easily pick up her scent. I knew what she smelled like. She has that shampoo that she imports from Atlas, and sometimes, she oddly smells like vanilla.

But her scent became less distinguishable as I came closer to the docks. It reeked like fish, but it still retained that aromatic salty air. It got mixed into her trail of scent and it became harder to find her.

If this was my other world, this would've been so much easier. I could have probably pinpoint her location from her flaring aura. But here in Remnant? That was not possible. Apparently it was impossible to track someone down through sensing their aura. It was funny how the laws of our worlds differ but shared the same understanding of aura.

I took out Crescent Rose and fired a bullet in the air. The cackling shot rang loudly and I looked around for any sudden movements. Weiss knew I was here at least. I had hoped she would panic upon hearing the gun fire at the empty docks, but I was gravely mistaken.

"Weiss, I know you're somewhere here. I can easily find you," I tried to bluff her out. I flicked my ears to concentrate my entire surroundings. I tried to focus on whatever I can get considering I was becoming nose blind. Breathing, shifting feet... Anything.

"Can we talk?" I tried to reason with her considering she wasn't biting my bait.

I sighed once more when I didn't get a response. I jumped on top of an old shipping container to get an aerial view of the place. All I saw was nothing but old shipping containers. My ears dropped and my tail slumped down when I scanned the place once more.

Still nothing.

"Okay, maybe I lied about being able to find you. It's hard considering the location we're in. But you think we can just talk. To fix _this?_ "

I stood waiting for a response. Instead of an actual verbal reply, I get a glyph below my feet and immediately got launched in the air. Initially, I screamed out of surprise. I wasn't prepared for it, but I was ready to take advantage of the better aerial view to scan down and find her.

And what a stroke of luck.

I could easily make out a white figure down below and a rapier pointed in my direction. I rotated my body, spiraled down towards the floor, and crashed down at the impact. The pavement shattered around me, but my aura absorbed all of the shock.

Without wasting a single second, I sprinted off in the direction where I spotted her. Like always, a trail of roses flew behind me as I darted my way through the narrow cargoes and leaped over wooden crates.

"Ahah!" I caught sight of Weiss.

Before she could send another glyph between the middle of us, I collided into her and we both tumbled down the docks together like flopping target dummies.

"Must you really?" Weiss narrowed her eyes at me when I landed on top of her.

"Yes," I answered mirthfully. "You're avoiding me. And technically, it was your fault who sent me flying in the air."

"So it seems," she sighed. Her blue eyes flickered to the other direction and avoided all eye contact.

"Can we talk now?" I rolled off and offered a hand. She took it and dusted her combat skirt when she stood.

"We are talking," Weiss started to become a smartass.

"No I meant with what happened back there."

Weiss exhaled heavily as she couldn't seem to get out of the situation.

"Very well then," she caved in.

Her eyes flitted down. Before we jumped right into the conversation, she made her way to the edge of the dock and sat herself. I followed her example and got comfortable. Together, we watched the waves gently crash onto each other off in the distance.

"What's on your mind?"

"Confusing complicated matters," she answered with a face devoid of emotions.

"Does that mean you're mad at Penny?" I tried jumping the gun considering she didn't want to discuss.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well," I rubbed my arm hesitantly. From the choppy response she was giving me, it seemed like my judgment was wrong. Perhaps I was reading it in too much regarding to Weiss's jealousy. "Everything kind of blew over when she came along?"

"Not exactly mad per se," she heavily sighed. "I was being honest when you asked where this was all coming from. I... I don't know either."

"Is it because you assumed she kicked you off the best friend podium?" I suggested it with uncertainty. Maybe my suspicions was correct considering she was confused.

"Best friend podium?" Weiss shot me a flat look.

"Yeah you know... Closest friend?" I clarified for her.

"Ruby," she gave me one of her famous eye rolls. "I know what's the definition of a best friend. No need to remind me."

"Hmm." My lips pressed into a straight line when she told me. "I thought you wouldn't know."

That earned me a whack on the shoulders.

"I'm kidding!" I winced and held up my hands in surrender. "But really... No one can replace you."

"I'm not exactly best friend material," Weiss curled her lips downward.

"Oh so you do want to my best friend!" My tailed wagged when it merely left my mouth and I glomped Weiss with a hug.

"No I do not." Weiss tried to peel me away from her.

My ears momentarily drooped at the thought, though they shot right back up when I imagined she wanted to be _more_ than best friends. But it was a fleeting imagination, and I didn't want to tear our friendship with my selfish desires. I was fine with just having Weiss as a simple crush.

"Are you sure...?" I asked her again to double check. "It's still an empty spot. Yang can't take it because she's my sister. You're higher in the podium than Blake. Currently, you're at a better position than anyone else I know."

"Hmph," Weiss managed to pry me off from her. She went straight to fixing the wrinkles on her dress. "Are you sure there's no one else in mind?"

"Will that make you jealous?"

"J-Jealous?" Weiss gave me an undignified look. "Preposterous."

"I don't know Weiss..." I sucked in some air pretending to be unsure. "Penny did say your estrogen levels —"

"Lies," Weiss sharply denied. "There's no way she could've known."

"If you say so..." I pretended to believe her. "Regardless of what you think, I am bestowing you the title of best friend for the next four years."

"Just four years?" She questioned dubiously.

"Well..." I shrugged in hesitation and cast my eyes down. "Once we graduate and become full fledge huntresses, you wouldn't exactly need to associate with me again."

I never anticipated for her to flick me on the forehead. I recoiled back with a hiss as it felt like the time Uncle Qrow flicked me when I was little.

"You're a dolt, you know?" Weiss didn't seem in the mood to sugarcoat her words.

"I'm very aware since you say that almost every day," I murmured.

"There's no way I could do that unless you do something incredibly stupid," Weiss reassured me. Little does she knows, I sometimes do stupid things. "And I learned to tolerate your outrageous antics."

That's fantastic. I think?

"And," she paused with a reluctant sigh. "I guess I'm quite fond of you. It'll be difficult to let go just like that."

"You mean attached?" I tried pushing it.

"Fond." Weiss punctuated her word quite clearly.

Obviously it didn't work.

"I'm quite fond of you too," I admitted. I leaned back into the palm and my heels kicked against the edge of the docks. I glanced back to the blue sky, not knowing how much time had passed by, and my face softened. "You remind me of someone."

"Please don't say Penny," Weiss wrinkled her nose.

"Oh heavens no," I flabbergasted. "You are far more coordinated. But in all seriousness, Penny isn't bad. You'll like her once you're more acquainted."

"I'll be the judge of that," she huffed. "But back on topic... Who did I remind you of?"

"Someone important I guess?" I shrugged when my mind pulled into my past back when I was in my world. It was a topic I haven't discussed in a long time. But that's because I pushed it away, avoiding it the best I could. But now, I guess I numbed a long time ago.

"So... Yang?" Weiss scrunched her face at the thought of my sister. She's probably comparing herself to my sister, trying to count how many similarities they shared.

"When did you get so curious?" I playfully teased her.

"I mean I can stop," Weiss muttered in suggestion underneath her breath.

I shrugged indifferently. "You can keep guessing, but I highly doubt you're going to get it right. But to answer your previous question, you're nothing like Yang."

"Thank goodness," she sighed in relief.

"Yang is cooler."

"Excuse me!"

"Kidding."

Kind of...

"So... Your father or mother?" She took a stab at it.

"Nah," I responded. "They're important, but I wouldn't say similar."

"So..." She hesitated. "A lover?"

I choked out a cough and regret letting Weiss continue guessing. "She's not a lover," I adamantly told the heiress. "I mean I liked her but that doesn't mean —"

I suddenly paused when the gender specific word slipped out. She looked at me with wide eyes, and I slapped my face with the palm of my hands.

"Fuck."


	24. Bittersweet Fairy Tale

I wished my palm would swallow my face and send me to the void.

There was no way for me to dig myself out of this mess. I could play dumb. Unfortunately, Weiss wasn't blessed with stupidity. So that option was bound to fall through at some point. I felt like I should face her — confront her, but I didn't want to peek between my fingers.

My hand acted as my safe haven, protecting me from whatever expression she made. It became my small little wall because I didn't know what to say to her nor could I look into her eyes.

The silence between us was deafening.

"You know what Weiss," I sighed into my palms. "Let's forget this conversation ever happened."

I finally drew my hands away and proceeded to get up without sparing her a single glance.

"W-Wait." Weiss reached out to grab a hold of my arm and stopped me. "Do... Do I know her?"

I couldn't meet Weiss in the eyes and I stayed soundless.

It was too complicated to explain.

"Is it Pyrrha?" Her voice softly croaked. "I mean... We're alike in some ways. Maybe Nora but that's stretching by many miles. Or is it —"

"Weiss," I softly cut her off. I finally turned to her with a broken smile. "She's not in this world."

Literally and figuratively.

She drew a long blank stare and her grasp grew weaker until it no longer anchored onto my arm.

"Oh..." Her eyes instantly darted to the floor but they returned back to mine to express her condolences. "I-I'm sorry for your loss."

I nodded in acknowledgement as I kicked a rock off the edge of the dock. It sunk down into the depths of the ocean, reminding me the time I sunk into a period of silent grief in the past. I kind of hated myself when I did. A guild leader was suppose to be someone strong, not an emotional wreckage.

But the past cannot be fixed.

We basked in the silence for a little longer as I stared straight at the ocean's horizon, watching the sky magically turn into an orange hue. The sun was beginning to set but it took its time.

"Do you believe in fairy tales?"

I now have Weiss's attention since I noticed her turned to me.

She shook her head. "Not really. Why?"

I shifted my weight and sat back down at the edge of the docks next to Weiss once more. I tucked my knees to my chest and rested my chin between the valley of my joints.

"I do." I offered a ghost of a smile. "There's one fairytale I like. Want to hear it?"

"I'm sure I've heard it before..." She replied, but I shook my head, positive that not a single word of this story ever made it to her ears. "But I'll bite."

"The main protagonist of the story is a leader who often went by the name Captain. The Captain held feelings towards this one person, but I suppose there was never a happily ever after to their ending."

* * *

 _"What the fuck is this?" I slammed the papers onto my desk and eyed my most trusted guildmates at what atrocity I was handed. "An official declaration of war?"_

 _"At least they have the audacity to declare war rather than surprise us..."_

 _I rolled my eyes and the highness of the angel race shrunk her head with a hesitant shrug._

 _"I mean I guess," I sighed as I leaned into the conference table trying to figure things out. "I'm not exactly in the mood to go to war with the guild Flaming Kittens."_

 _The name rolled off my tongue in disgust. Like seriously, who creates and establishes a name with Flaming Kittens? It sounds like a terrible joke._

 _"I don't see what's the problem," the demon lord didn't bother hide the cocky tone in his voice. But I'm not surprised. By nature, the king of Hell would never show humble modesty. "They only have one power house in their guild while we have three. We can easily bring them to their knees."_

 _"The problem is causalities," I did nothing to hide my eye roll. "When we go to war, we also suffer a few repercussion. Not just them."_

 _"But there's also something else bothering you also isn't there?"_

 _I glanced up and noticed another one of my subordinates leaning against the door's archway. Her light colored hair flawlessly cascaded down, trapped between the wall and her back. When she craned her neck, her long pointed ears tilted along with it._

 _A half-elf._

 _Affinity for all sorts of magic. Sharp in terms of sense and perception._

 _Yes, that's what she was. A mix of an elf and a human. A child born out of a wedlock. A bastard of a child tossed away like many others. The elven race were harsh. They did not take lightly to their own kind who were not pure — like her as an example._

 _"Leave us," I ordered everyone but her._

 _They abided and they filed their way out of the room. Once the two of us were alone, I pulled a chair for myself and kicked my legs up._

 _"And what makes you say that?" I dared to ask as my cheeks rested into my fist._

 _She strode in with a hum. She possessed beauty and intelligence from her elven side, but was born with an aura that matched any normal human._

 _"There's something more to it," she easily answered. She swooped from behind and played with my hair carefully. They had grown fairly long, but never passed my bosoms. I felt my shoulders relax and she knew it too. "You're wondering why would they challenge us when they don't stand a chance."_

 _Then she suddenly plucked a stray white hair that contrasted with the dark brown I had going on. I hissed and jerked up, shooting her a stern scowl._

 _"Perhaps you're correct." I admitted. Her perception was on the spot. Like always. "So why do you think they dared to wager war? They cannot hold a burning candle to the demon lord or to the princess of the angels. Nor I in this matter."_

 _"Perhaps they have something planned far deeper and more complicated?" She offered a suggestion._

 _"Are you suggesting they may have aligned with other guilds that could rival us? Suggesting that their foolish name is just a ploy to lower our guards, hoping to hit us with a surprise? "_

 _"There are twenty power houses in this world. Combine a few together and we might sink."_

 _"You are not far from the truth," I sighed._

 _XXX_

 _"You're badly injured," she hissed at me. The elven woman pushed my shoulders down to keep me from sitting up._

 _"So?" I laughed it off. "My aura can heal it."_

 _"Your aura is blocked you dumbass."_

 _"Minor details," I snorted. Who would've thought that someone was capable of developing a magic to temporary block aura. I swear, people nowadays are becoming clever. "Now let me up woman."_

 _"Shut up and let me take care of you."_

 _"Don't you see that there's a war going on? Who the hell would've thought they aligned with four other guilds."_

 _"I am very aware," she rolled her eyes. "Now would you please shut the fuck up so I can figure out how to unblock your aura."_

 _I relented and relaxed onto the ground. Her hair cascaded down and her tips barely touched my forehead. Despite how much I bled and how much I ached, I felt oddly relaxed. Here we are somewhere in a forest where I had crashed. The fight still ensued. People were injured and perhaps dying. But I took this moment to not dwell on it._

 _"You know we cannot be seen like this right?" I murmured. My eyes were completely shut and my lips tug into a disappointed frown._

 _She knew it and I knew it too._

 _The feelings we held._

 _"You told me multiple times. I am very well aware."_

 _XXX_

 _"I stand by my statement!" I accidentally snapped back to her._

 _I regretted it but I have to make my point across. The war was dragging on for far too long. I reluctantly made a few alliances with other neighboring guilds, but our enemies were thinking quick on their feet. They were trying to pinpoint my weakness as I stood in their way like an obnoxious obstacle._

 _"I'm trying to protect you," I added on top of that. "They want me dead. In order to do that, they're going to target you."_

 _"Are you implying that I'm your weakness?" She gritted her teeth at me. She hated when she was called weak. She had everything but strength I would admit. But it wasn't her fault that her aura was very limited. It wasn't her fault she was born with an aura of a human — finite and fragile._

 _"We weren't being subtle enough and our enemies know how I'm quite 'attached' to you."_

 _"Oh so I am your weakness."_

 _"That's not what I'm saying."_

 _"That's what you're implying," she countered back._

 _"I'm trying to take precautions. What if they attack you? What would happen if they decide to lay their fingers on you and I'm not there to stop them."_

 _"I'm not a damsel in distress. I can take care of myself just fine."_

 _"And how could I possibly know that? I know my enemies and I know you."_

 _"I could say the same thing," she scoffed. "I know you don't want this. There's more to us. I know you, Ra —"_

 _"Don't say my name!" I twisted my body away from the window and snarled at her._

 _I didn't like it when people did. They always ended up dropping dead like bone skeletons if they casually mentioned it out loud. It felt like some curse._

 _Everyone knew not to go to first name basis with me. It marked a moment of closeness_ _— like if some intimacy was involved._ _Enemies would see it as a window of an opportunity and hunt them down like savage predators. If their target was weak, then that's a bonus for the enemies._

 _And I could tell that she was beginning to make it on their hit list._

 _She was my weakness. Get through her and they can get through me. That was one possible way to strike me down._

 _"My apologies Captain," she spitefully spat out as she understood her place. She simply bowed and sharply turned around before slamming the door behind her._

 _XXX_

 _My brown eyes couldn't tear itself away from the monochrome stone. Engraved on the stone were letters I didn't want to see. I didn't shed a tear yet, but there was that hole in my chest filled with melancholy._

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _I recognize the voice behind me. The demon lord. I knelt down and placed the flowers onto the grave. My head lowered and I bit back the grief that was surfacing slowly._

 _"Do you have regrets?"_

 _The sound of regrets slipping out of his mouth weighed heavily in my mind._

 _I did._

 _"Who?" I barely managed out of my throat._

 _It was loud enough that it could be heard by him._

 _"The man who befriended her was an enemy spy. He tried to pick off any useful information about you through her. When he realized he couldn't, he apparently planned to use her as a hostage against you. But she took her own life before he could. She knew the predicament she was in and she knew what lengths you would go through."_

 _I let his words sink in. I wiped a rogue tear from the corner of my eyes as I shouldn't be grieving. I wanted to, but I shouldn't. Perhaps I'll grieve another time._

 _"What's the plan?"_

 _"End the war. I'm going to watch every single one of those little fuckers burn to the ground."_

* * *

"I-I never heard of such a story before," Weiss faintly murmured. The so called fairy tale sunk into her head and boggled her mind when it didn't sound anything close to Remnant. Remnant didn't have anything similar to this _fantasy_ story. "That's your favorite fairy tale? The ending is so... Tragic."

"It is..." I quietly admitted. "Probably not the best ending you would like to hear from a fairy story, but not all of them has a happily ever after."

"What did happened to the Captain after that?"

"Fueled with rage and sadness, the Captain slaughtered them all. They..." I paused and sighed. "She did not rest nor stopped. She pushed herself to the edge as she was consumed with her emotions. And by the end when she could no longer continue her revenge, she turned cold and pushed away those who wanted to help her. It was until many years passed that something _magical_ happened."

"What magical thing happened?" Weiss sounded deeply invested in this story.

This fantasy world.

My world.

"The Captain found peace and her stone walls crumbled through people that were _beyond_ this world." I lowered my head and fiddled my thumb as my mind drew further back. "The Captain didn't exactly have a family other than her guild. But these people beyond her world were able to fill that empty hole in her heart — something that her companions could not give her."

"So there is a uplifting ending to this..."

"I suppose if you squint pass all that war going on there is."

"And why is it your favorite fairytale?" Weiss pulled the loose strands to the crevice of her ears, genuinely intrigued and curious.

I buried my head into the neck of my cape while I dwelled on it.

"Remember when the Captain stood in front of the grave and the demon lord asked if she had any regrets?" Weiss nodded and I continued. "She did have regrets. She regret holding romantic feelings because her silly mistake led to the death of her subordinate. But yet a part of her regret holding these feelings back, restricting it from ever blooming."

"I like this story because it reminds me to live life without regret." I shifted my head, my attention now steadily pointed to her rather than the horizon. Weiss seemed deeply lost in thought. Who knows what was going on in her head, but I knew what internal battle enraged in mine. "This fairytale is no different than the world we live in — the emotions we feel and the predicament we get pushed in. Nothing is different other than what the world is comprised of. But none of that matters. Life is precious and it only lasts so long."

I closed my eyes and let the rays of orange light seep through my eyelids.

A lot of things changed over the years. I never knew I could experience such drastic changes. It felt strange, but yet, in a good way. I felt free — freer than I ever been.

"...Thank you."

My ears somewhat picked up a quiet mumble. I slowly opened my eyes, gazing directly at the owner of the soft-spoken voice. Her eyes already bore into mine and I blinked, watching how the scarlet-orange light dyed her pale complexion in streaks.

"Thank you for sharing that story." Weiss expressed her gratitude by offering a small smile. "It made me think of things that I haven't thought of."

I shook my head.

"No, thank you for letting me tell it."

I had to admit, it sat in the back of my mind collecting dust and cobwebs. I almost forgot about it from how much I pushed it away.

"Do you have any regrets?" She asked me.

I thought about it for a moment.

Was there any regrets I have as Ruby Rose?

I pulled my chin on top of my arms and leaned forward into my tucked knees. My eyes flicked down when I traced through my memories of what sort of regrets I held living as Ruby Rose.

The whole ordeal with the White Fangs.

My sudden disappearance.

Summer Rose.

My memories.

There were a few...

"I do," I honestly answered her. "It's either too late or impossible to fix them."

I let the lingering silence sit between again until I broke it.

"Do you have regrets?" I questioned her.

I found the courage turn to her and study her face. Her blue eyes flitted down to her neatly folded hands. She wrung them together while she searched through her memories.

"I..." She started off at first but shook her head. "No. I don't regret any of my decisions."

She spoke with confidence and I found my lips creeping into a latent smile.

"That's good."

I closed my eyes and listened to the lulling waves crash. I slowly drowned myself into my thoughts when I thought about more of my regrets. The past already happened and was now out of my hands. But were there other regrets? Were there things I knew that could turn into some kind of remorse? Was there anything within my powers I could do now before it becomes another addition to my growing list?

...Was there?

A hum drew me out of my deep reflective thought. It only took a simple wordless melody to override the coursing waves. A soothing sound, a gentle tone, or whatever you want to call it, I became less... Anxious.

I felt relaxed...

"Hey Weiss?" I called out to her.

Her humming had stopped.

I turned to her one final time and admired how the orange haze casted over her face. It wasn't just her that could feel the brilliant rays, I could feel it splashing on my skin also. A calm current of wind slowly carried passed us, and Weiss finally turned to me, locking me under her eyes.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry..."

In the back of my mind, I realized there was one thing I could do before it could turn into a lifetime of regret. The inaction... The lack of trying... Being afraid to like someone because it'll get them killed... I don't want these to haunt me forever. I want to live knowing I gave it my all. I want to live knowing my heart did its best to achieve what it wanted. I want to be selfish. I want... _More_.

I wasn't living in that world anymore.

I'm now living as Ruby Rose.

I want to put an end to my bittersweet fairy tale and find a happily ever after.

"...But I like you."

* * *

 **When you're suppose to be drafting a technical report, but instead, you write fan fiction. Oops.**


	25. Shortcomings

Weiss froze on the spot.

"You... Like me?"

"I do." I came out clean. No more hesitations. There was no room left for interpretations. There was no time to beat around the bush. There was no going back.

It was practically now or never.

"Are you sure...?" Weiss hesitated at first. "Are you certain that your feelings for me isn't some... Replacement for your lost?"

"You're not a replacement," I unquestionably shook my head. "Maybe you share one or two traits, but nonetheless, you're unique in your own way. And... That's what I like about you."

"There's nothing great to like about me Ruby," she sighed.

"Maybe you think so." I shrugged. "But I think you have a heart of gold over that heart of cold." I let out a small laugh, but it came out more like a sniff. Weiss gave me a blank stare at the ambiguity. "Um... Over that outward front you set for yourself, you always have good intentions. You might come off as heartless, but if you look over that, you have that kind nature in you. You got that burning drive to succeed in life even if you keep failing. You're like my logic when I'm not. There's more... There's a lot of things I like."

"Ruby... I... I don't know to say. Thank you but I just don't know —"

"It's okay Weiss." I scratched the side of my neck.

My eyes wandered away from hers to the waters where it splashed beneath my feet. Maybe I won't have a happily ever after with her. But at least it's not... A misery ever after.

"I wanted to say it because I didn't want to regret it later on. I wanted to give myself a chance. Don't feel obligated to reciprocate my feelings. You don't need to answer it. I just... Want you to acknowledge that I have something there for you."

"Ruby." I could see Weiss shaking her head in disagreement at the corner of my eyes. "It's unacceptable to _not_ give you an answer. You deserve one much like everyone else. I just... Right now... I just don't know. I need more time to give you a proper response."

I simply nodded.

"Is that okay with you?" She asked me.

I just nodded again

"Thank you Ruby."

"Yeah no problem."

"No, I mean thank you... For your patience and for liking someone like me."

My ears just lowered and I nodded my head a final time.

"Of course Weiss."

* * *

My confession didn't put a wall between Weiss and I.

We didn't act any different than we would on the normal basis. We did sat in silence as we watched the sun set and the moon rise. It wasn't really uncomfortable silence, but it wasn't the most comfortable.

At least for me. Who knows about her.

The way she said 'For liking someone like me' didn't sit with me right. I felt like it should be the other way around... I'm the one who's different. Not her. I should be the one blessed to be surrounded with caring people. And it bugs me to wonder what would she think if she knew the truth behind me. What would everyone think? Would they still accept me if I kept this all hidden away from them?

"Ruby, the shipment is coming."

I adjusted my sight and a large ship containing huge containers peered through the darkness. Weiss squinted her eyes from the flashing lights casted by the ship.

"So what do you want to do?" I asked her. "Greet your suppliers or just watch them afar?"

"Watching them from afar will be fine," Weiss answered. "It's their job to handle the shipment. It's not my business."

"Then it's settled. Come on let's go."

Weiss and I hid ourselves on the rooftop. We watched the workers haul large shipping containers with cranes and organized them into neat piles. I drew a loud yawn as I grew bored watching them tediously stack like blocks. While I stretched out my body, Weiss stood still as she leaned off the rail and glued their eyes at them.

"They're going to be like this for awhile."

"That doesn't mean I shouldn't keep them under my surveillance," Weiss spoke back. I don't think she was aware that I could see her rolling her eyes at me in the dark.

"At least blink then," I made a single noise from my nose.

"It's rude to stare at other people you know," Weiss retorted.

"Wasn't the first time," I muttered. She turned to me with an incredulous look. "I'm serious." I bit back a smile that she probably couldn't see. "Go take a break."

"I don't need a break." She turned her eyes back to the dock. By now the workers were almost finished unloading the cargo.

"You're straining your eyes. I'm better at this than you are." I nudged her shoulders and pushed her away from the edge of the roof.

"Hey —"

"Close your eyes or do something at least," I shooed her away.

She grumbled back in response and I steered my attention back down. As I continued to vigilantly watched them, I reached into my pocket. My hand brushed my diary aside and maneuvered around to pull out my scroll to make a phone call.

"Hello?" I asked when the line stopped ringing.

 _"You finally called me now?!"_

I winced when I heard my sister screech into the scroll.

 _"Geez what did you do? Profess your undying love to Ice Queen?"_

"Um... In a way, yes I actually did." I drew out a nervous laugh.

 _"Wait. I was kidding... But seriously?"_

"Yeah..." I turned my head over my shoulders and caught a sight of Weiss just aimlessly walking in circles with her eyes closed and arms stretched over her head.

 _"Oh wow. How did it go?"_

"Eh..." I gave a shrug that she couldn't see. "Not the best but not the worst I suppose... I don't know. Disappointed?"

 _"Oh... I'm sorry about that... You okay? Where are you at so I can give you a hug and maybe behind the ear scratches. Maybe get some ice cream when we head back to our dorms."_

"Docks," I chuckled, smiling at Yang's comfort. "They already unloaded everything and workers are heading back home. How's it going on your side?"

 _"Uhh... Well... We ran into some weird person near the ransacked dust shop. People were chasing him and... Well your friend is really weird. Penny wanted to see how fake his abs were."_

"Whaat," I droned out at the oddity.

 _"Yeah I know. But anyways. End of the story: his abs are 100% real. But obviously mine are better."_

"I don't know Yang," I drew a deep breath. "I think mine are better."

 _"What? Your dinky abs? Psh."_

"They are not dinky!" I hissed into my scroll. "They're defined!"

"Is that Yang?" Weiss strutted my way when I became too loud for her liking. "What are you guys talking about?".

"Yang you're on speaker now," I pressed the button so Weiss can hear too.

 _"Who has better abs. Ruby or me?"_

"What?" Weiss pulled back her face. "H-How should I know? I don't go staring at either of your lady abs."

"You call it lady abs?" I cocked my head. "That's so weird..."

 _"Obviously the answer is me. Oh look Blake is back. Hey Blake! Who has better abs? Ruby or me?"_

 _"Um... What?"_

Blake sounded just as confused as Weiss.

 _"It's a serious question!"_

 _"Me."_

A large beam of light broke through the clouds in the sky. I narrowed my eyes at the oddness, but a drafting whirlwind blew away the coverage to reveal and incoming bullhead.

"Yang," I said in a hurry. "Bring Penny and meet us at our location. Weiss and I have company."

I ended the call and placed my scroll back into my pocket. Weiss and I watched how its beams scattered around the docks before it landed in the middle. My eyes hostilely narrowed at the group of Faunus in gaudy uniforms debark from the hatch.

Their representing symbol _irked_ me.

I reached out for Crescent Rose attached behind me, but Weiss grabbed my shoulders to stop me.

"Going out like this won't work. We need a plan. We'll be outnumbered."

More and more bullheads came down from above as more reinforcements came in.

I sighed out a grumble. "We can wait until Blake, Yang, and Penny arrive. But I don't know if they'll get here in time before they get away."

"So what are you proposing?"

"Even if we're out numbered we need to stall until our reinforcements arrive," I suggested. "We can handle them. I'll watch your back. You watch mine. Partners right?"

"Not the best plan you came up with but very well. Partners," she smiled back to me.

"Hey! What's the hold up?!" An obnoxious but recognizable voice echoed across the docks. My eyes homed in on a man wearing a bowler hat while swinging a familiar cane.

"Who's that?" Weiss tried to squint to see who was the mysterious figure.

"Roman Torchwick," I clicked my tongue. I reached for Crescent Rose once more and unfurled her into her sniper form.

"What are you doing?" Weiss watched me intently.

"One shot. One kill."

I lowered my eyes into the scope, maneuvering my weapon so the crosshair lined up with his head. I pulled the slide and steady my breath. Pay back is a bitch isn't Torchwick? I'm going to pop your damn —

"Ruby!" she hissed. "You're just going to kill him like that? We need answers! We can't get answers from a dead body!"

Right when Weiss opened her mouth, I pulled the trigger and a bullet rang from my barrel. It sliced through the air at an angle and shot directly at Roman. The bullet cleanly cut his cheek but missed his head entirely.

"Shit!" I cried out in frustration when I missed. "How the fuck did I missed that?! He was literally standing still _asking_ to be shot!"

"Watch out you dolt!" Weiss grabbed and pulled me away from the edge of the roof just in time before an explosion blew off a good section. The sudden igniting blast knocked us down to the floor. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," I gulped. The position we were in reminded me back to initiation when I caught Weiss from her fall. Her ponytail tickled my skin, but I pulled my thoughts aside focusing on the important. "The roof isn't the best place to be at now that I blew our cover. They're going to hunt us down."

"Split up?" Weiss pushed herself back onto her feet. She lent a hand and I grabbed a hold of hers.

"Yeah." She hauled me off the floor. "Split up. But don't stray too far."

"Understood."

Weiss and I hopped down from the roof and we gave each other a nod before we separated.

As I darted through the shipment containers, I quietly knocked out a few White Fang grunts that skulked around. Through the fine slits and gaps of the opening, I noticed Weiss easily blasting a few others away with her dust.

Taking a deep whiff in the air, I growled low as a number of scents came charging her way. I scaled up the shipping containers and bolted across on top. Right when I peered down, Weiss unleashed a large scale column of ice and blew the small fries away.

"White hair... Throws dust like pennies... Smells like money... A Schnee!" Roman said delightedly. He twirled his cane and pointed at Weiss. "Perhaps I can make a ransom off of you. You know... I bet someone would pay a lot of money for you."

"Sorry to disappoint," Weiss leveled her rapier. "But I'm not worth much."

He fired an explosive bullet, but Weiss evaded the shot even if it did obliterated the floor. She retaliated back as she quickly lunged forward and swung her rapier at him. Despite how she exercised swift strokes, Roman easily defected her attacks like it was nothing.

I unfolded my weapon to her scythe form and bolted behind Roman with my semblance.

"What the —"

Roman crashed onto the floor when I swept his leg with my weapon. I twirled my scythe and the back of the blade came hailing down but missed when he rolled out of the way in time.

"Oh for crying out loud," he sourly muttered. He dusted the debris off his suit when he pulled himself back onto his feet. "You really do know how to crash a party."

"Missed me?" I crooked a sly smile and rested the shaft of my weapon over my shoulders.

"Not exactly," he shrugged apathetically. "You're a pest."

"Excuse me," Weiss surly interrupted. "Only I can insult her."

Cute? I guess...

"You're both pests," he said dryly. "But that's what the exterminators are for. And I have just the right animals to do that."

He tapped his cane against the floor, and so conveniently, more of his reinforcements came raining down from the bullhead. The White Fang surrounded us, cocking their guns and raising their sharp edge swords.

"All of you better put up your aura," I coldly growled. "Or else it'll be raining with your blood."

As they took heed of my threat, our weapons crossed. Weiss and I exchanged blows after blows as the White Fangs persistently lunged at us. I twirled my scythe and mowed them down, letting the adrenaline take reign of my every movement. Weiss was the same. She yielded to no one as she took the grunts one by one.

Together, we danced.

We missed no beat and exchanged no words. The way our bodies and weapons moved spoke for us. Nothing broke through our line of offense as we executed devastating and quick blows. Our movements were in unison — she deflected their assaults and I promptly followed up with a finisher. I intercepted their attacks while she connected with rapid strikes.

We kept dancing and dancing.

"Useless trashes," Roman grouchily complained.

He did not sit in the sidelines for too long as he drew out his cane and fired.

"Got your back." Weiss conjured a glyph to block an explosive bullet infused with dust aimed towards me.

"Launch me." I shifted my feet and prepared myself.

"My pleasure."

With another glyph cast below, I sailed across at Roman. I swung down my scythe and he blocked in anticipation. I continued my onslaught as I pulled the trigger to further boost my speed, pivoting and swinging Crescent Rose at him. But he blocked and kept blocking.

"You know Red," he thwarted another attack. "I thought you can do better than that."

My ears twitched in annoyance.

How the fuck is his cane not snapping in half already?

"Torchwick," I clicked my tongue. He did nothing but deflect my attacks as he couldn't close in the distance between us. "Resort to using a cane..." Crescent Rose crashed from above to cleave him in half but he intercepted it before it could. "I didn't think you were that senile."

"Pest," he grunted. He tried closing in and impaling me with his weapon, but missed when I evaded it. He quickly retreated a few steps away when my assault continued.

"I'm beginning to think you and your men are like roaches," Weiss leaped above me and darted down, trying to plunge her rapier.

As expected, Roman leapt back in time before sending the back of his cane directly at her side. Weiss faltered but stood her ground. She retaliated back, thrusting her rapier like a rain of swords. Roman took a few hits but blocked the rest with ease when he recovered.

As we stood in the fight with Roman, more bullheads came heading our way. The battle was getting drawn out for too long, and Weiss and I were growing weary.

"Come on White Puppet," Roman laughed. He pushed forth, and this time, it was his turn to be on offense. "Dance for me."

He jabbed a cane into her stomach, but before he could chain his next attack, I bolted in and blocked it.

"Sorry Torchwick," I offered him a small smile before putting my boot into his chest. He stumbled backwards and glared at me. "She's my dance partner."

Weiss drew a deep breath before she steadily brandish her rapier once more. "I swear ever since earlier you've became much bolder."

"Does that make me charming?"

"Hmph. Quite the opposite."

Bummer.

More White Fangs leapt from the sky and joined the fray. Weiss and I scanned around, trying to figure how to solve our predicament. It was either brute force or some thought out plan.

"End of the line wouldn't you say?" Roman adjusted his hat. "You're out numbered."

"And here comes the reinforcements!" A boisterous voice came from above and she smashed her gauntlets into the floor. Flames engulfed her and a wide smirk pulled her lips. The floor ruptured and blasted the surrounding White Fangs back.

"Great," Roman growled and staggered when the floor shook. "Look who the roaches are now."

A blade threateningly drew close to his neck and caught Roman by surprise. He lets out another growl and rolled his eyes at his current predicament, muttering more about roaches.

"Brothers of the White Fang," Blake pulled her ribbon and revealed ears.

Oh? Kitty ears!

Blake tightened her grip and pulled the blade closer to Roman's neck. "Why are you aiding this scum?!"

The White Fangs hesitated and lowered their weapons. However, my team and I stood our ground and prepared for any sudden attacks. I could see Yang wasn't having it, while Weiss and I tried to catch our breath.

"Didn't you get the memo?"

I narrowed my eyes when Roman sneakily angled his cane towards Blake's feet.

"What are you talking about?"

"Blake!" I sprinted forth and dragged Crescent Rose from my side to stop him.

Roman pulled the trigger before I could do anything even with my semblance. Blake and I got caught in the explosive aftermath and it sent us flying back.

"Ruby!"

"Blake!"

"The White Fang and I are on a joint business venture together!" Roman exclaimed in a laugh. Through the smokes and the ringing sound in my ear, I could still pick up the sound of my sister going on a rampage.

"Ruby?"

I squeezed my eyes before I opened them. Penny tilted her head at me and stared at me when I lied on the floor.

"Hey Penny," I pulled myself up. Further off on the side, I noticed Blake was still recovering. "Did your dad use the SA 2.0 Blueprint I gave to him awhile back?"

"Yes he did," her eyes steeled. "Father implemented the Sword Angel 2.0 into my battle system. Why do you ask?"

"Good," I let out a wry laugh. "Let your swords rain down."

Penny's eyes glinted and a hurricane of swords pull out of her small backpack. The swords around danced around her, reminding me of how mine would circle me. In a flash, her weapons delivered catastrophe at lightning speed. She easily blew the henchmen away as she knocked them out in hordes.

As more bullheads circled in the air, bullets showered down as their turret targeted Penny. However, none manage to penetrate her supreme defense. Instead of standing helplessly, Penny reeled herself back and a green light concentrated at the center of her rotating blades appeared.

What is she —

A massive blast of energy discharged and severed the bullheads like sliced breads.

HOLY FUCK.

WHAT THE FUCK DID DR. POLENDINA GIVE HER?!

"Ruby!" Weiss yelled across. Yang was busy handling the White Fang goons while Blake assisted her. "Torchwick is getting away!"

I shook away the shock and awe before I followed the direction where Weiss had pointed. Indeed, Roman was getting away. He sprinted off to the bullhead to make his great escape.

"Oh no you don't," I growled. I folded back my ears and bolted towards him. The floor gave away from my semblance and rose petals fluttered behind me.

I tackled him to the floor and flung him at the opposite direction of the bullhead. He tumbled like some rag doll but finally stopped himself from further rolling.

"God dammit Red," Roman snarled at me. He pulled himself up and tried clean off his suit once more. He brushed the specks and tried to unwrinkle his attire."Your dry cleaning bill is starting to rack up. Didn't your mother teach you manners?"

Something in me _snapped._

I left behind Crescent Rose, abandoning my power for more speed. I ferociously lunged at him with a snarl, coming at him with empty hands. My eyes narrowed at him in hostility and the primitive side drew out.

"Did I hit a nerve?" Roman cracked a smile. He tried blocking my attacks, but with my incredible speed, he couldn't hold a candle to it. His weapon couldn't keep up and he took the blunt force of my fist.

I relentlessly launched a storm of sharp punches while I silently seethed and smashed my bare first into him.

Roman wheezed as he slouched in pain when I momentarily paused. "Let me guess —"

"Shut up!"

I didn't bite back another thunderous snarl and I rammed into Roman once more. I pulled him up to his feet and slammed him into one of the shipping containers. He banged against the metal and I held him up, gripping his collar and almost tearing it off. I could hear how the material rasped from how tightly I dug my nails into it.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Take it easy there." Roman held up his hands.

"You're on death's door Torchwick." I lost all composure, blinded by nothing but rage.

"Stop Ruby!"

"Did you not hear your companions?" Roman didn't stop smirking. I want to scrape it off. "They're telling you to stop. Or are you deaf even with your animal ears?"

I slammed him against the metal containers again.

"Ruby!" Weiss tried to shake me from my rage when she caught up. There were footsteps pacing behind her. Probably must be Blake and Yang. "Enough, we need him to answer questions."

"Then we'll start now." I growled. I banged him against the containers once more and my voice dangerously lowered. "Who are you working for?"

"What makes you think that Red?" Roman coughed when I wasn't kind to hold back my strength.

"I'm not fucking stupid Torchwick!" I slammed him harsher. "Something this big isn't done alone."

"I'm a smart guy Red. I can easily scheme up something like this."

"My patience is wearing thin Torchwick," I snarled at him. There has to be something more to it. There has to be. Through the boiling mess burning inside me, there was some gut feeling.

"Ruby, the authorities are here," Blake said. "We should let them handle it."

I growled once more and loosened my grip. Roman fell to the floor with a harsh thud. I turned around so I wouldn't look at him anymore. I was already fuming with rage, almost crossing over the line of no return.

"So I was right in the beginning," Roman started again as he was digging further into his grave.

I paused, clenching and unclenching my fist.

"Shut up..."

"Right on the mark."

"Shut up..." I warned him a final time.

"Your mother is _dead_."

He pushed me over the edge and I crossed over that line. I whipped out Thorn and pulled it towards his neck. The voices — I heard my name being called out but that's it. I was blind and I stayed blind.

"I'm going to skin you alive Roman! _"_ I dug my blade into his neck until I saw his blood tainting my dagger.

He gritted his teeth.

"I will gladly take your life!"

He hissed from the pain.

"I will —"

"Enough Ruby." Yang reached out and covered my eyes. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled herself close to me in a hug. "Enough..." Her voice broke into my consciousness and cracked from sorrow. Her body pressed against my back and I could feel her trying to hold back her trembles. She buried her forehead at the back of my hair. "No more."

Her warm hug slowly melted away the seething rage, replacing it with soothing serenity. Thorn loosened from my grip until it dropped completely to the floor. I sank back into her arms and my body trembled with her. Tears pooled into my eyes, but she completely hid them under her hand. It stained her palms, but she continued to hide my vulnerability. My walls were collapsing brick by brick, but Yang hid me from the world.

"Blake. Weiss. Can you two leave us for a moment?"

"Yes..."

"Of course..."

There was a dragging sound and their footsteps became distant. I could no longer smell Roman's blood or Roman himself.

Yang stood and hummed to take the pain sitting in my heart that came in waves. The same hum that Summer sung and the same one that Yang strummed when we first came across each other. Her arms never left me as they only tightened protectively.

She did it until when I stopped trembling.

I finally relaxed.

"Ruby," Yang spoke softly. "Are you okay?"

I gave it a second before I hiccupped an answer. "No." I was still trying to cope with the lost of mom. "I'm mad."

My voice came out more heartbroken than angry.

"It's okay to be mad. It's okay to be sad." Yang stroke the top of my head when I finally shed my last tear. She pulled her chin on top of my head and continued to hold me. "I know you're in pain, and it's okay to take your time. But don't let it control you. Don't let it consume you."

I pulled into a weak smile. "You're the one to talk..."

Yang lightly laughed. "I speak from experience."

I just nodded.

"If you ever need it, I'll be here. Blake and Weiss will be here also."

"Thanks Yang... For everything."

"Of course. You're my little sister," she rubbed my hair. "Do you want to head back? We can take a walk if you would like. Just us."

"No it's okay... I'm ready."

Yang released me when she removed her arms around my shoulders. Blake and Weiss were standing off to the side where the police had rolled by. Penny seemed to disappeared somewhere and Roman was nowhere to be seen. Probably somewhere in custody.

An unusual caw echoed at the docks.

I sniffled.

I turned my eyes to a black crow that stared down at us with its red eyes.

How odd. I thought crows were diurnal.

* * *

 **Okay serious question.**

 **Is it Weiss's or Weiss'? I'm so confused. Send help ):**

 **Other than that... I went to trivia night. And boy am I disappointed in myself. One of the questions was "a cake crust (or something) with ice cream and merinque on top and baked. What am I cooking?" It was freaken Baked Alaska which is Neo x Yang ship.** **My team and I put down diabetes for shits and giggles cause we didn't have a clue.**

 **On another note, my updates will have to slow. This end of the month I'm moving out of my apartment and I still haven't started on my technical paper. This is probably a good pause before I accidentally leave you with cliffhangers.**

 **Our Story will be updating for now as I can't leave that ending for you guys. That's just too cruel. I finished the other chapter for Fifty Shades of Red, I just have to do some major editing which I'm a bit lazy.**


	26. Pretty Little Liars

'I'm fine.'

These are the two worst words someone can say. Behind every word is most likely a lie. They are anything but fine; it's far from the truth. It's the quickest and most generic response that allows you to keep your bottled up emotions stay hidden.

It's easy and it gives you a leeway to escape an emotional conversation. It's a front; it's a cover up; it's a mask. It was something I've been saying for awhile now.

Pyrrha asked if I was okay.

I responded with an I'm fine.

Weiss asked if I was okay.

I responded with an I'm fine.

Jaune asked if I was okay

I responded with an I'm fine.

Ren asked if I was okay.

I responded with an I'm fine.

Nora asked if I was okay.

Once again, I responded with an I'm fine.

Yang already knew I wasn't fine. She understood why. It was something that was out of her hands. Time can only fix it. The best she can do is give me her support and have me understand that she is always there when I need her. She didn't helicopter me, but she did watched me from the side.

Blake gave me a look that asked if I'm okay.

I looked at her and silently told her I'm fine. After, I raised my eyebrow and silently asked if she was okay. She gave me the same look that I gave her.

We both shared an I'm fine look. Obviously, we're both _hypocrites_. I wasn't exactly fine and she for some reason wasn't either. She had that look on her face — that distressful look. I didn't know why but she became more out of it ever since the night of the docks. She seemed more antisocial than ever. Perhaps more moody, but mostly quiet.

As a leader and a teammate, it would make sense to check on her — to make sure she's okay. But who am I to ask and who am I to judge? I became more out of it too at the night of the docks.

So... We didn't bother to probe because we knew we didn't want to dive into it. It was mutual, something we didn't want to talk about. Despite me being reluctant on that thought, I left it alone. Probably not the best decision, but I'm not in any position.

But there was one person who was adamant and loved to ask if I'm okay.

And that was Weiss.

"Ruby, are you okay?"

We were in class sitting side by side as Professor Port handed back one of our tests. To my defense, I didn't think my change in mood was that noticeable unlike Blake's. Sure I was lost in thought plenty of times, but I thought I hid it well.

I was good at hiding things like my identity for example.

"I'm fine." I answered her. I lost count of the times I have said it, but Weiss was starting to see through the fine cracks. Professor Port passed me my test and I winced at the letter grade I received.

"You failed..." Weiss looked over to my test.

"Yep." I stated as a matter of fact. I crumbled my test into a paper ball and tossed it into my backpack. Weiss probably aced the test with flying colors.

"Ruby, you never failed one of his test."

It was true. This was a first. I typically pass with flying colors or at least get class average. I wasn't dumb. I held more wisdom than most students here so I knew more about combat and monsters. Failing one of his test said a lot.

"I didn't study." When it left my mouth, I remembered how poor of an excuse that was.

"You were studying in front of me."

She was right. But staring at a book for endless hours and mindlessly turning the page was different than studying.

"I..." I couldn't answer. I blanked out when I tried to think of another excuse.

Nothing came to mind. Whatever I thought of would admit that _something_ was bugging me. I wouldn't be able to squeeze my way out of it and I knew Weiss was perceptive.

"Ruby." I knew that look on her face. "Are you —"

"I'm fine." I cut her off. Class already ended and I slugged my backpack to one side of my shoulders. I heard her sighing behind me, but I left it. I was quite stubborn and she started to realize that too. "Let's go to our next class."

Combat class was next on our schedule. Professor Goodwitch had us sparring with our own partners again. So like good students, Weiss and I sparred.

Blake and Yang sparred a distance away from us; however, Blake didn't seem to be doing too hot against Yang. It was another oddity because she would at least put up a good fight. But just glimpsing at her, she wasn't fairing too well.

Yang noticed it too. It couldn't escape from her eyes.

Under that layer of humor, she is just as perceptive as Weiss.

"You're distracted." Weiss thrusted her rapier towards me.

I staggered back when I marginally blocked her attack with my scythe.

"You're over exaggerating."

She lunged at me and our weapons crossed in a stalemate. We held our weapons there for a long time, neither of us pushing back to release our deadlock.

"Am I?" Her eyes intently gazed into mine and stubbornly held it there much like our weapons.

She gave me that look that I was too familiar with. She was studying me... Not analyzing my fighting style. It was more along the lines of reading into me, searching for something far deeper and more complicated.

I darted my eyes away.

"Yes," I answered her.

We broke off our standoff and swung our weapons much faster. Weiss was capable of keeping up with me in combat as she understood how I fought. She knew there was a certain way I pivot my body and she knew how I like to move my feet and my arms.

Blows after blows our weapons constantly collided. Weiss never relented and neither did I. Our weapons crossed, and once more, they held in another stalemate.

"Am I really...?" Weiss asked me again, her voice instantly grew softer. It was the same tone Yang uses when she knew something was wrong. That tone... That same exact _tender_ tone.

I chewed my bottom lips. My eyes refused to dart away in fear that Weiss would see through my facade.

"Yes," I manage to choke out again. My heart stung at that obvious lie when I looked directly into her eyes.

She silently stood there, her eyebrows pinched together by a fraction with a mixture of disbelief and... Hurt. I felt her weapon lose strength and I took this chance to push her away before she actually manage to dig something up that I tried hard to bury down.

It caught her by surprise when I broke off the stalemate. She fell backwards with Myrtenaster collapsed at her side.

"Are you okay?" I held out my hand for her.

She wearily screwed her eyes shut. "I'm fine."

Lunch time rolled in quickly. At the stroke of noon, students filed in line and the dining hall buzzed from the loud chatters and excited laughter. But I wasn't one of those students. Not today. I mindlessly probed my food as I cast my eyes about, my mind wandering around aimlessly just like my incessant probing.

"You should eat."

It took me awhile to register the voice, and I glanced up.

"You need to eat something at least," Yang said to me as she puts her platter of food down at the table. It was us two so far. Team JNPR were in the middle of retrieving their lunch. Blake and Weiss were not too far from them.

I stabbed whatever mystery meat this was with my fork and I took a bite. Yang continued to watch me as I chewed slow and silent. When I swallowed, she urged me to take another bite. She kept darting her eyes between me and the plate.

"Go on..."

I randomly stabbed somewhere into my plate knowing full well I'll pick up something. The tine of the fork scratched against the plate and I cringed at the annoying piercing sound. My ears instantly folded down but it straightened when I heard footsteps coming towards us.

"Hey guys," Jaune said. Team JNPR came to join us at the table. Blake and Weiss came after and sat down.

"Hey." I replied flatly.

"Hey Vomit Boy," Yang greeted much cheerfully.

"I don't vomit anymore," he muttered.

We dined in silence.

Blake didn't say a word. Neither did Weiss. It was just a string of silence followed by another deafening one between us all.

"So..." Pyrrha tried to start a conversation. "I heard you guys had a run in at the docks the other day."

"We did," Yang picked it up. "Had a nasty run in with Roman Torchwick and the White Fangs."

"That's a strange mix," Jaune said. "I always thought they hated each other."

"Strange indeed," Ren concurred. "They're like water and oil. It's difficult to imagine for the two collaborate so well together."

"Maybe they struck a deal?" Nora gave her two cent in. Her voice dropped low and she tried to mimic a random voice from a lame villain in some movie. "If you give me more manpower, I'll supply you an infinite amount of dust. With your army and my diabolical thinking, we will be unstoppable!" She started to get in character with the made up villain inside of her. "Then we can rule this world! Rule it I say!"

Her voice escalated and she started maniacally laughing.

"That..." Ren drew a nervous breath. "Would be terrible for us."

"Psh," Nora laughed normally. "No way that will happen."

"You get a ten out of ten in acting from me," Yang snapped her fingers — sounds like she pointed a finger gun. "Maybe a seven out of ten for the plot."

Nora stood to make a theatrical bow.

"Maybe they're not collaborating..."

It was a voice we haven't heard much in awhile. Some people grew more quiet and shifted in their seats when they picked up the unusually faint mumble.

"Did you say something Blake?" Yang asked.

"No." She shook her head.

I noticed a bit of movement at the corner of my eyes — it looked as if Blake was playing with her food. Something was on her mind. Always reclusive to process her thoughts, that's how Blake is.

Pfft.

Again... Who am I to judge?

We basked in the silence for a second time. Despite how it kept getting lost in the sea of noise from the background, we could hear our forks scraping our plates. To ease Yang's worries, I ate. It was slower pace than the rest, but I still ate.

"So..." Jaune took initiative to restore a conversation with us. "Torchwick is now behind bars."

"Overall crime rate should decrease now." Ren gave his input.

"Yeah right..." I heard Blake mutter in disbelief, but no one picked it up.

"The price of dust should drop as well," Ren said.

"SDC should be glad now huh Weiss?" Jaune sounded a bit happy. "Stores are able to sell dust to customers without repercussions." When he didn't get a response, I could see him shifting his head in concern. "Weiss?"

"Huh?" Weiss snapped out of it. "Sorry I wasn't listening. What were we talking about?"

"SDC," Pyrrha reminded her of the topic. "Torchwick shouldn't be causing havoc, so we thought the SDC would be in a better position. Are you... Okay?"

In the corner of my eyes, there was a nod.

"I'm..." I felt her gaze shift to me. "Fine. It's one less worry on their list that's for certain."

Another minute of silence sneaked up to us.

It slowly became like poison as it continued to suspend in the air. Thick and heavy, everyone noticed that something was going on. Aside from Team JNPR and Yang, our silence said a lot.

The conversation laid bare.

It kept crumbling.

"Um..." Jaune tried again."Do you think the White Fangs —"

Blake stood in her seat. "Sorry, but I think I'll be the first to leave."

After a long period of time of keeping my eyes down, I finally glanced up from my plate and watched Blake carry her tray away. She left without batting an eye to anyone at the table. Weiss just quietly stroke the bridge of her nose.

"Is she okay...?" Nora raised two brows.

"She's fine..." Yang answered hesitantly. That was a lie. She knew that.

"I'm going to take my leave as well." I stood from my seat. I needed some fresh air as well — to think again. "If you would excuse me..." I took my tray and turned my back against them. I couldn't sit much longer, I need to figure things out.

"Yang," I heard Weiss say. "We need to talk."

* * *

My suppressed emotions were running amok.

Despite how hard I tried to shove it down into the pits of darkness in hopes I would slowly forget or even become numb to it, it kept resurfacing. The thoughts about mom — the immense pain and the accompanying grief, it keeps coming to my mind. I thought I buried it for good, but I was wrong. Being with Dad and Yang was only a temporary fix. I thought I was okay, but realistically, I wasn't.

I made my way into the outskirts of Beacon going through thickets of trees. I needed to be alone because I kept thinking. After our encounter with Torchwick, I kept thinking. I kept thinking and thinking and thinking, and I wouldn't stop thinking.

As I weaved around trees and bushes, my cape tugged me back when it got caught in a small branch.

I choked a little.

"Stupid tree," I growled. I tried to untangle it but I couldn't. I tugged but it wouldn't let go. At this point, my patience wore thin and my frustration got the better of me. I just yanked my cape free.

I continued to wander around the area until I noticed a small opening. A fallen tree laid on the floor and mosses started to thrive off its trunks. I sat on top of the giant log and pulled Thorn from underneath. I started shucking whatever I could find — the one thing I know I can find solace in.

My thoughts were becoming chaotic — twisting, turning, and strewing everywhere so messily until it finally decided to settle on one thing... What my sister said to me.

Yang told me not to let it consume or control me.

But it was hard.

I didn't understand how she could keep them at bay. I didn't get it at all. The wound in my heart started to reopen and I tried to stitch it back. But no matter how many times I tried to seal the wound, the hole would rip up much bigger. Nothing I was doing could mend it.

Was it even possible to fix?

There was an inner turmoil incubating in there — a war brewing between sadness and grief.

"What's wrong kiddo?"

I woke up from my thoughts and jerked my head up. There was that familiar voice... An awfully very familiar voice. I looked around trying to find where I heard it but I couldn't. I was so deep in my thoughts that I couldn't remember where it echoed from. I took a deep breath and tried to pick up a scent.

But I smelled... Nothing.

Was it all in my head?

Was it my imagination?

I glanced down at the piece of wood in my hands and stared at how Thorn ate into the bark at thin slices. I didn't know what figure I was trying to carve, but it didn't matter. I found it relaxing — something that will placate my loose emotions.

But it could only do so much as my thoughts continued to trudge into dangerous territory.

I bathed inside the swirling emotions as I kept thinking back to the death of Summer. Every time my mind dared to take a step further, I got doused in oil. One raw grieving thought would earn a bucket of gasoline, and so far, I was drowning in it.

I knew one small trip up could easily ignite my mind into flames. If it did happened, I wouldn't know what to do.

I would be stuck with no escape.

I started to feel everything eat me from the inside as I kept struggling with the agony anchored in my chest.

"Don't cry..."

I froze until I had the nerve to bring my hand near my face. I felt droplets of tears slowly being freed in the corner of my eyes and I tried to wipe them away. But the more I dried it with the back of my hands, the more I felt it threatened to escape once more.

The waters tried to break through the dam but I managed to keep them locked and contained. I drew another deep breath through my nose and caught a lingering scent until it... Magically disappeared.

I was confused.

Has my thoughts consumed me to that far of an extent that I'm starting to hear voices?

Was I going insane?

Was I really going mad?

I tightened Thorn in my grasp and tried to remember where the scent was. I stood to my feet and traced through my memories where I had last picked it up. I vaguely remember it was somewhere right around there... Or perhaps was it over here... Or maybe...

I flung Thorn into a thicket of trees and a crow flew out of it. A soft sigh flew right through my lips and I deflated when I watched the crow fly into the limitless sky. I lowered my head, my tail falling weak.

I really am going crazy.

How very off putting.

I went to go retrieve Thorn. After minutes of climbing and trying to wrench out Thorn from a bark, I climbed down only to see the same crow perched onto the log I sat. It stared at me with its red eyes.

I strode a few steps forward, my shoes crunching the blades of the grass, but the crow did not budge from fear.

"You're a weird bird." I said to it. I didn't get why it didn't fly away like most animals. I almost killed it. By nature, they would retreat. That was their natural instinct they obeyed.

I sat down onto the grass when the bird occupied the log. I watched its head tilt at me, observing me intently. I didn't get why... But it was almost the same look Weiss gave me — the same look when she tried studying me, searching for something to understand when I gave her nothing.

"What?" I asked it. "Are you going to ask me if I'm okay too?"

It lifted its leg to scratch itself.

"I'm fine," I told it.

It stretched out its wings.

"I really am."

The bird cawed.

"Seriously, I am." My ears twitched. I was starting to feel irked.

It stared at me — it was that same look again.

"Why are you giving me that look?" I hissed at it.

It continued to stare, its stationary red eyes trained on me while it blinked slow. There wasn't any communication between us, but I knew what it was saying to me. I knew what series of questions it asked. They refused to avert as they stayed immobile. They did not yield, and it pushed me to the edge.

"Don't give me that look." My voice came out as a croak but still sounded threatening.

But the bird didn't listen. Its eyes steeled at me.

"I said don't give me that look!" I snarled, but the crow didn't seemed threatened at my raised voice. I buried a hand into my face and I shook my head pitifully. "Don't give me that look..."

I stayed like that for awhile.

I couldn't find the strength to tear my hand away. It was hiding my vulnerability even if it was by a little.

Then, I collapsed onto the floor — sprawled with my hand shielding my eyes.

"I know I'm not fine." I confessed to it. "I know I'm not doing well. I know I'm not okay. But I need to be strong." I felt the tears spill and I tried to fight it. I couldn't. The dam was leaking. "But it's so hard. It's so damn hard! I changed so much. I can't even put a mask anymore."

My saliva thickened and I choked out my next words.

"I had such an easier time putting a cold front to all my guildmates. Now I can't even hide it from my own teammates or my friends. I thought I could bury it all down and be fine with it but it's so fucking hard!"

"It's so hard..." I quietly sobbed. My forearms inched its way over to my eyes. My tears left streak marks.

"I'm so plain to read now. I'm making everyone worry because I can't even get a hold of my emotions. I'm letting it get the better of me. But I don't know what to do with it. It's driving me to the edge and it's dictating every rational part of me. It's escaping from my bottle and I don't know how to contain it!"

"What do I do...?"

I sucked a deep breath through my gritted teeth.

"What am I suppose to do?!" My shout broke through the bars of my teeth and echoed in the forest. "Tell me, crow."

The crow cawed.

It's animalistic noise made me draw a flat laugh. "I'm so stupid. I'm talking to an animal." How silly of me to believe it could understand my words or even sympathize.

It cawed again.

"I really am going mad."

It cawed once more.

"You squawk too much." I mumbled. I tried to clean the tears when they had stop falling from my eyes. "If only I could use that spell... I forgot how it incantation went... Something along the lines of 'Speak to me O' beast'..."

I sighed.

"I feel so old. I'm forgetting things now. Could've been useful. Maybe I would've knew what you keep squawking about even if the sentences would come out broken."

The crow didn't caw.

"It's a real shame. I could've talked to Zwei."

I paused and just laid there.

"Or maybe..." I murmured.

The words got stuck in my throat and I left it drift through my thoughts.

Maybe I could've saved mom. If I knew how to tap into my powers, maybe I could've took on a missions with her. Even if I was a child, I knew support spells. I can easily boost her and give her an upper hand or maybe even cripple our enemies for a brief moment. I could've made some kind of difference. Hell, maybe her discovering who I really am could've changed her fate. Maybe she wouldn't have taken the mission. Or maybe —

There was that scent again.

My thoughts froze and I dwelled in the scent. It was stronger than before almost as if it was next to me.

I instantly fumbled back up and stared where I picked up the scent from. It was from the log where the crow had perch. But the crow was gone as it left a single black feather behind. And the scent... It was gone too.

Strange.

I swear there was a scent earlier.

How was the scent no longer existent?

Was my nose really playing tricks on me? Or maybe... Just maybe... It was —

The bush shifted behind me.

I caught a different scent.

I sharply jerked my head to the sound and went wide eyes with who they saw.

"Ruby," she said.

I wasn't prepared for the same adamant person to confront me.

* * *

 **Thank you to everyone who answered my call for help on grammar (:**

 **I've been busy trying to adult in life that I didn't realize a month flew by since I last posted a new chapter for this. Same goes with my other stories. Oops. But I'm working on every single one of them!**


	27. Mending Who Once Was

"H-Hey Weiss." I took a deep breath to calm my nerves while putting up another front. I successively wiped all evidence of my tear stains so Weiss wouldn't notice them. "How did you find me?"

"This." She pulled up a tattered piece of red cloth. Pieces of strings dispersed in all directions from the freshly ripped side of it.

"And," Weiss continued. She pointed her thumb off in that general direction. "I heard your voice echoing from the courtyard."

"Right..." I sighed. That ensnaring death trap of a branch that tried to strangle me to death earlier and my shouts. "So what brings you here," I tried to play it off casually. "School is at the other direction."

"I came looking for you obviously," she strode my way and flicked her eyes down at me. She kept a straight face, more serious than the others she typically carries. "You haven't been yourself lately. Neither have Blake."

How likely of her to go straight to the point.

"Then you should —"

"Your sister is talking to Blake," Weiss beat me to it. "Yang thought it would be better if I talked to you instead of her."

"Why?" I asked her effortlessly.

"She thought you need someone else, not just her. Seeing that Blake wasn't in any position to do so, I was a better choice. So..." Her tone suddenly gone a little softer. She tilted her head at me and looked me with clear-cut concern. "What's wrong, Ruby?"

Her eyes continued to trail after me when I stood to my feet.

"N-Nothing is wrong, Weiss. I'm fine." I turned my back against her and brushed down the grass. The last bit of my words weighed heavily and left a nasty taste in my mouth.

"No you're not."

"I am," I tried.

"No, you're not." Her words grounded firmly.

"What makes you so sure?" I unintentionally raised my voice. My fringes whipped across my face when I sharply turned around. "I've been fine."

Weiss marched towards me with permafrost covered eyes. Despite how she wore heels, it sounded heavy... Heavy like stomping hooves of a demonic horse that resided in the depths of Hell. She grab a fistful of my attire and she yanked me close to her face.

"Look me in the eyes and say it."

With no traces of hesitation, her calculating eyes focused on me and spared no room for me to be invisible. She stripped away any covers for me to hide and left me bare. Her unmoving orbs pierced straight into mine. They were like cold knives. They dug deep down to scavenge the pieces I left buried and hidden away.

I drew a deep breath and managed to look into her eyes even if it was the bare minimum.

"I'm..."

I suddenly hesitated as the word slowly died in my throat.

Why?

"I'm." I said much stronger. But yet, my sentence failed to be completed. The words remained trapped and I couldn't get it out of my chest.

Weiss' eyes refused to tear itself away as it continued bearing into mine. My sentence finished off with silence and my body felt weak. I couldn't lie to her like this. I couldn't look into her eyes and tell her the same pretty little lie. Once already hurt enough. I couldn't do it again.

"I know you're not fine." The iced layer in her eyes instantly thawed and her expression had gone soft once again. Her fist loosened its grip, but the wrinkles it left behind showed how bound and determined she was earlier. "I always say I'm fine, but I never am. Trust me Ruby. I know what it feels like."

"Do you really...?" My head hung low as well as my ears. My bangs fell past my eyes and casted a shadow over them. I stared downward to our feet and kept my eyes hooded. I didn't dare to lift them up because I felt too _v_ _ulnerable_ in front of her.

"I do," she whispered as gently as she could. "I've done it many times before. It's easy to put out a straight face and say everything is alright."

"It is," I admitted, agreeing with her. "But I'm not good at it anymore."

It was funny how I could pull myself together when I was struck with grief and sadness back in my own world. I could always put a cold front, making it seem all fine and dandy in front of my guild mates. But now? It was a struggle. One of the most difficult battles I came across. Every expression I forced wavered. I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't live up to the detached character I forged. I really couldn't.

"You're really not," her soft stifled laughter came out to a single sniffing noise. Her hand fell back to her side but then decided to reach up. It paused midway before gaining enough confidence to lay at the top of my head.

"But it's better this way," she gingerly reassured me. "Won't you tell me?"

It was the first time Weiss ever touched the top of my head. Despite her being cautious, it was the first time she ever pat my hair and brushed back my ears. They were treading on unfamiliar territory. My ears flinched to her touch, but eventually became at ease. Her hand swept up and down against my locks in movement to my weakly nods.

We didn't move.

I stood with my head hung down while her hand passively rested at the top. I didn't meet her eyes as mine stayed glued to the green blades of the grass. I watched them sway back and forth against the wind while I attempt to formulate the right words.

"My mom died when I was young." I confessed out to her.

I recalled that single moment of my life where my emotion fell into turmoil.

It was the first time I told anyone. No one knew except my family members. Weiss was the first to hear it directly from me. It felt odd to reveal my strife. When I think about it, I rarely sought out others for comfort other than Yang and dad.

"Everyone thought I was too young to understand. But, I knew and I understood full well the moment she was gone. It hurts to think about it. I just never showed it — I hid it," I admitted to her.

I didn't sugar anything on top. Everything that welled in my chest suddenly poured out. There was no control over them. I didn't need to force it. Everything just happened to flow out. It just... happened.

"I didn't want anyone to see and I didn't want anyone to know, so I buried it deep down and concealed it despite the void in my heart." I shrugged nonchalantly but it came out like barely lifted shoulders. "I was good at putting a mask on. So good that I fooled everyone including myself. I believed everything was fine — that I was okay. And that's how I lived my life."

"As I grew up, my mom resided in my memories and I deeply engraved her into my heart. I would forget the sadness, but I wouldn't forget about her. She didn't deserve to be left forgotten, so I made sure not to forget."

"But guess what?" I croaked out a laugh. I finally lifted my head to reach her cerulean eyes.

Weiss chose to be silent and her arm went down to her sides. I look straight at her, my eyebrows knitted together and my eyes glistened from the pain. That single thorn in my heart bloomed into a prickling vine. It snaked around my heart and pierced me every single time.

"I did forget," I bitterly spat. My voice raised because I was angry with myself. Angry that almost everything I built with almost everyone in my life became a blur. I never understood how my memories escaped me, but it didn't matter. What was done was done. "I lived a life half-filled with lies after I was taken away. I always thought my mom was alive waiting for me to come back home. But it wasn't just her. I wanted to be with my dad, my uncle, and Yang. I wanted to see them again."

"So..." Eventually my voice broke into a soft sound from my spew of words after words. "I went the distance. It drove me to keep searching. The endless walking and traveling, I kept going to find that warmth to fill the gap in my chest."

"In the end when I thought my suffering finally reached a conclusion and I manage to regain my memories, the truth..." I slowly shook my head. It was more directed to myself. "The truth hurts. I regained the good memories and I regained the bad. Finding out my mother was dead was the bad memory."

When I brought it up, Weiss probably recalled our earlier conversations and how I did not want to disclose any further.

Hesitant, Weiss carefully wrapped me into a hug. Her arms coiled around my shoulders and she reeled me close. She gently rubbed my back with her thumb while I kept my arms attached to the side of my hips.

"I was disappointed in myself for forgetting. But more importantly, I was scared, afraid, and started questioning everything. Like what if I start forgetting? What if the memories I made suddenly disappeared? What if it happened again?"

"But that wasn't the worst of it," my voice trembled. "I had to go through the pain again — the same pain that I hid when I was a child. I thought pushing it down will work again like it did in the past, but it didn't. It only worked if I didn't think of her. But at the day of the docks..."

I paused and Weiss understood. There was no need to emphasize it anymore. She was there to witness it and she was there to hear it.

"The grief resurfaced and came back ten times worse. Whenever I tried to push it down, it would spring back up. I felt like I was on a ship and I was sinking with it. The pain... The grief... It wasn't fading. Nothing was changing. I felt suffocated. I couldn't keep my cool anymore. I couldn't keep the strong front from crumbling behind what I thought I were strong walls."

My tears threatened to break free once more and there was a lump in my throat. Weiss' arms tightened to keep me secured in attempt to be the strong pillars I really needed. The glass bottle that contained everything shattered into little shards. I could hear it breaking in my head and I could feel the pent up emotions flooding out of it.

Everything spilling out from my lips was unfiltered. All the raw emotions... It just came flooding out like a tragic calamity.

"I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to cope. Shutting the world out didn't work. Fooling myself that I was fine didn't work anymore. I felt at lost. Yang told me not to let me emotions dictate me, but they did. It's so hard to keep them from trampling over me Weiss." A raw tear shed down to my cheeks, then another. My voice cracked. "I-It's so god damn hard."

"What the hell am I suppose to do?" I burrowed my face into the crook of her neck, my eyes buried along with it. My arms dangling at my hips quivered. "I don't want to feel like this. I don't want to feel so... Weak."

Weiss continued to hold me. She gave me silence to let me cry. My self-constructed walls collapsed. It was as if someone summoned a phantom beast from an interdimensional rift and tore it down. My shoulders quietly shook from my half-silent sob.

Weiss took a deep breath.

"You are far from weak Ruby," Weiss spoke softly as she stroke my back. Those words held familiarity to me — the same words that I once spoke to her. "What I see is a selfless, confident, and honest to goodness leader. You are kind and sweet, and yet realistic at the same time. But you don't always have to be strong. Even the strong has a weakness."

I silently hiccuped and Weiss took it as a sign to continue.

"My emotions can be fickle and even I admit I don't have a full grasps on them. But I do know for a fact that it's normal to feel this way. It's okay to be sad — to feel grief. It's normal to express them. Human and Faunus, we're all alike. We experience the same emotions and we can't escape it because it's an integrated component in our life."

"But it's okay to feel like this, Ruby." Weiss reassured me again. Her hand went back to my hair and she brushed back and forth rhythmically. It felt warm like Yang's hugs.

"I'm sorry you had to go through it all over again," she spoke quietly. "I can't imagine how hard it has been on you. To live through the past again... I'm sorry to hear that."

A weakened snivel came out. Everything remained pitched black when I kept my eyes shut. They continued to hide into her shoulders.

Weiss paused, appearing to be struggling with her own thoughts. Then, she took another deep and slow breath.

"So, come to one of us," she said with conviction. "If something this big weighs you down or if your world feels upside down, come to one of us. Don't seclude yourself and handle it on your own. It's impossible to shoulder every feeling and every burden yourself, and that's what teammates are for. You have Yang, you have Blake, and you also have me to be here for you."

I heard what she had said and silently nodded to it.

"You said it yourself. No one is perfect, and you're not any different Ruby. If you need to cry, I will lend you a shoulder. If you need someone to talk to, I will lend you my ears."

"But please Ruby," Weiss implored. It cut me deep to hear Weiss plead like that. "Don't _lie_ to me. You don't know how much it hurts me to watch you lie. You don't know how much it wounds me to see you suffer."

"I'm sorry..." Being the first couple of words I have said in awhile, my voice had lost its volume. My apology was quiet and indistinct, but Weiss still heard me clearly as I was right next to her ear, face still buried into her shoulders.

"It's okay," she accepted my apology. "For next time in the future, don't push down your emotions and hope it'll be gone. It won't disappear. I've been there myself and struggle to not make it a habit. We'll be here." She assured me. "At least... I'll be here for you."

I let her last words sink into my thoughts and I nodded again. I finally reached around her waist and hugged her to let her know I took in what she said. I took a deep breath to collect myself, but more to recollect my train of thoughts.

What was once shattered walls were starting to mend back together to something more firm, something stronger than before. The internal struggle mellowed. I could feel it inside and I was starting to feel a little at peace again.

This was nice.

Really.

This feeling is honestly... Nice.

Our shared hugs carried on until I pulled away from Weiss. My eyes flickered from the dirt to hers as it mustered the courage to.

"Thank you, Weiss." The last tears fell forth from the corner when my eyes crinkled into a sincere smile. I wiped them away with the back of my sleeve and sniffled a final time. Weiss looked back at me with a warm smile as well. "Thanks for being there for me."

"Of course Ruby," she replied earnestly. "Do you feel better?"

I nodded my head. "I do. I never knew how much I needed to talk and to let it all out."

I felt more than a lot better.

Talking to Weiss lifted a load off and listening to her console me took a great deal of woe away.

I never knew how talking could make my body feel light like the wind.

"That's good to hear." Weiss flashed another smile.

In her own graceful pace, she walked past me and picked up Thorn from the floor along the way. She sat down on top of the fallen log but not before reaching over to retrieve a piece of wood that I had been shucking earlier. She studied it and tried it for herself again.

"There's something I noticed about you," she said to me.

"Such as?" I took the spot next to her and watched her successfully took a thin piece of wood away.

"You do this when you're always withdrawn in your own thought," Weiss answered, making another successful carve. "Why is that?"

"It's a habit I never grew out of." I shrugged in response. "In some way, it helps me reflect."

Weiss hummed before going soft in tone. "I've been thinking..."

"Of?" I asked her. I watched her hand pale when she applied more force into slicing through the wood.

"We're partners." Weiss halted midway so she can turn her eyes to me. However, they shot down to the floor before it even got the chance to look into mine. "And I barely realized that I don't know you too well."

"You kind of do now," I said with a reassuring half-smile. I casted a quick glance to her before letting my eyes hang low. "Um... What is it that you want to know more about?"

"I'm not really sure," Weiss shrugged her shoulders before sending a contemplating but uncertain expression my way. "How about... Your story?"

"My story?" I was caught off guard. I shifted in my seat feeling uncomfortable — perhaps it was a sudden in the moment overreaction thinking that Weiss somehow discovered my secret in a short span of time. My life was literally an odyssey.

"When you were at Vacuo... You traveled a lot, so I assumed you have a few tales to tell." Weiss found herself hesitating at her own words.

"Oh." I blinked and left a minute of silence bear between us when I tried to prepare a response.

"I'm sorry if I brought up a subject that you don't want to dwell on." She spouted quickly and apologetically.

"I — Uh... No, it's okay." I nodded to affirm that it was really all right. I paused and thought back to those difficult years. Out of the huge chunk spent traveling and searching, was there anything interesting to tell?

"A Beowolf was the first and second Grimm I ever encountered when I was 10 years old," I said at random.

Honestly, it was the first thing that came to mind — my first Grimm encounter. They weren't exactly monstrously terrifying compared to what I've seen in my life. But given that magic was not at my disposal, I could see how they were. Just the sudden feeling of being helpless was dreadfully terrifying enough.

"A Beowolf?" She parroted in surprise. "How did you manage to kill it?"

"Umm..." I thought back harder to recall those days. "One of them was with my bare hands and the other was a scalpel made with a few scrap metals."

Weiss looked at me skeptically. "I don't believe you."

I found myself chuckling. Now that I think about it, a little girl killing Grimm with her bare hands is actually absurd and hardly realistic. Even if it was all true. But it's up to Weiss to be the judge of that.

"Have you ever been to Vacuo?"

She huffed when I strayed off to another question. "No I haven't," she shook her head.

"It's a beautiful place." I stared into space as memories flashed through my mind, a surprising latent smile crept onto my lips.

"Everyone thinks Vacuo is barren," I began to explain. "They're not wrong. Probably more than half of its land is covered by sand, but Vacuo has its pluses." I slowly let my eyes close and pictured that more happy moments during that time period. "There are some jungles still standing. But if you know where to go, there are some parts of the area that is absolutely breathtaking."

"It sounds amazing," was all Weiss could say as she watched me reminisce.

"It is," I agreed with her. Pulling myself back from my memories, I started unconsciously twiddling my thumb. "But living there isn't so amazing. Survival is a challenge for everyone. It's hard to feed mouths with that type of environment. They have to worry for themselves before they can extend a hand to outsiders. Seeing that Faunus weren't highly regarded, it makes it easier for people to turn them away."

Weiss dropped her gaze back down to her lap, probably feeling guilty. "How did you manage through it all?"

"Survival skills I suppose," I answered casually. I mustered a smile to lighten the atmosphere before it gets any darker than necessary. "I guess you can say it was a stroke of luck that it was pretty innate. It had me trying to eat a Grimm."

"You _what_?" Weiss wrinkled her nose at how revolting that sounds. "I really can't believe you actually did. You don't know how poisonous they can be."

"I didn't know!" I fussed out defensively while barely concealing a smile.

"In my entire life, I never heard anyone silly enough to treat a Grimm like some kind of cuisine" She pinched the bridge of her nose and dragged out a long sigh.

"Spoiler alert." I snickered. "They don't taste good and they're not edible."

"Of course they wouldn't!" She exclaimed, completely dumbfounded. "You know, the closer I look at you, the more you're becoming the dolt you truly are."

I laughed and she broke out of character when she caught my infectious laughter. However, mine trailed off into the wind sooner than hers as my smile disappeared. "Perhaps you shouldn't look too closely." I blew a puff of air and rubbed the side of my neck. Thinking about it, that might be the best option.

My last few words sat in Weiss' mind as she processed what I had just said. "Why...?"

"The more you do, the more you'll see that I'm not the person who you think I am."

She did little to hide her bewilderment. "What do you mean...?"

"What comes to mind when you think of _Ruby Rose_?" I turned the question around. "I mean other than being a Faunus attending Beacon with a sister who's a total opposite of race."

Setting Thorn to the side, Weiss closed her eyes and leaned back into her palms. "A dolt." She confessed in her most brutal and typical dry tone.

We both erupted in another fit of giggles. It was a cross between a fail stifled laughter and a snort.

"I think we established that earlier," I reluctantly acknowledged. "Who knows. This dolt could be a ruthless murderer who slaughter hundreds of people."

I grinned at her to back up my point which further fueled her amusement.

"Strangely, I don't doubt you as much as I would've thought." Weiss softly chuckled. Though, I could obviously tell she wasn't convinced. She probably passed it as part humor. I guess I look too young and too innocent to pass some harbinger of death.

"But would you _believe_ me if I said I was?" I studied Weiss, my expression did not waver when I did so.

I watched her face slowly fall into a perplexed frown when she caught how serious I appeared. "I'm not following."

I opened my mouth, but instead, I found myself silently shrugging one side of my shoulders. I left it at that, not daring to clear anything up as I suspect she would start questioning even further. But my silence spoke loudly for itself.

"What do you mean, Ruby?" Weiss asked again when she didn't accept silence as an answer.

"Exactly what I mean Weiss. The more you know about me, the more you'll start realizing I'm not the person you think I am. Perhaps you might not even accept me."

Letting my head drop, I mulled over the possible scenarios of their reactions if anyone did discover who I was. The idea itself was hard to believe. I expected mostly everyone to be taken by surprise. If not, then shaken with doubt. But I was more afraid that they'll consumed with fear. Fear of magic and how dangerous it was. To be able to cast something that could split land, that was more terrifying than a Grimm.

But in high hopes, the likelihood of someone suspecting anything should be close to none. The only way they would catch on was if I had access to magic. However, that was impossible. The opportunity only rose once and never again I was able to cast any magic.

"What makes you believe that?"

I glanced upward and Weiss marginally tilted her head to the side in the most endearing manner. Her eyes hung loosely on me, slowly blinking as if it was trying to compute what was going around in my head.

"A gut feeling." It was a weak response, but it was the only appropriate answer I could give to her.

Weiss remained quiet for fairly some time now. She sat there and stared at me with those distracting but impassive eyes. It wasn't like those intentionally cold ones. It was warm, but it leaned closer to those completely blank stares that were unreadable.

"I think your 'gut' needs to be reevaluated," she said frankly.

I stared dumbly back at her since I didn't anticipate such reply. "What?"

"Ruby, you've accepted me regardless of my upbringing. My family took advantage of the less fortunate and evoked a lot of pain and suffering. I can't be any different than you are." Weiss placed her hand on top of mine, but within a split second, it quickly retreated away to cling the side of her arm. "I-I'm certain I can do the same for you as well."

Can she really...?

She wouldn't be terrified of who I really am? She wouldn't reject me because I am different than everyone else? She wouldn't be angry at me for keeping it away from her? Can Weiss really accept me unconditionally?

How about the others?

"Do you doubt me...?" I could see the hurt behind Weiss' eyes when she brought up the question.

"N-No. I just..."

I just what? Wasn't all these questions that is currently springing to my mind considered doubt? It's been stuck in an endless loop, suspended between one question to another.

I shook my head.

I need to stop.

"I'm just taking it all in," I told her with a smile to boot. "It makes me feel better to know that you'll look at me the same. Thanks Weiss."

"Of course," Weiss nodded. She revealed to me a soft smile. The pain behind her eyes dissipated into happier relief.

Side by side, we sat together in silence and enjoyed each other's company. But the midst of the quietness, Weiss began to hum.

I leaned back into my palms and listened to it as it sounded almost close to the hums of Yang and Summer.

* * *

 **I am super late with this. Even more late with my other stories. I got so busy because I ended up finding a job and I come home tired due to extremely heavy traffic. But better late than never! Sorry, I don't know when the next update will be but hopefully it doesn't take decades.**


	28. Sickening Guilt

Several inches of thick cold steel, one side of the edge deliberately honed enough to slice through the thickest wind. My sense of smell was sharper than that — sharper than any blades.

It rarely made mistakes. Detect and search, I had molded to become a hunter rather than the hunted.

After Weiss and I agreed that it was time to head back to our room, my primeval instincts kicked in as soon as we entered the dormitories. It happened automatically. I lifted my chin and held my nose in the air to draw in deep, long breaths.

There was something unsettling. It was a type of smell that held a sense of familiarity. I inhaled another time and let the scent drift through my still incomplete memory bank. Like a pick and a lock, there was a click inside my head.

It was that smell again.

The same smell that appeared in the forest out of nowhere — the same exact moment when I thought I heard a voice speaking to me.

The scent hadn't faded away from my consciousness. It remained fresh as it clung to the edges of my memories. Despite how the trace circulated and blended in with a cobweb of other scents, it was still discernible.

Faint, but still noticeable.

My nose twitched, and I drew in the air deeply again to sift through the strung-together scents.

"Is something the matter?" Weiss asked, noticing my unusualness.

She mimicked my behavior and deeply breathed in to get a hint of what I was trying to smell. Of course, she had no clue. Given the dark shadow casted over her eyes, she obviously smelled something undesirable.

"I'm noticing something familiar in the air," I answered her.

Weiss had the wrong idea and pulled the hem of her collar closer to her nose. She silently whiffed.

"It's not me is it?"

A small laugh escaped from me when I saw how silly she looked. Not so ladylike, but adorable.

"I guarantee that you don't smell like this."

"I would be ashamed of myself if I did." Weiss wrinkled her nose in disgust. She sharply twisted to the side and observed a couple of unfamiliar students walking the other direction from afar. "I never realized how this area reeked of rancid sweat."

She clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

"Aren't you blessed that you're not a Faunus?" I mused.

The idea of Weiss being born as a Faunus was an entertaining thought. If she developed a keen sense of smell, I was certain that a lingering putrid odor would kill her faster than just the speed of my semblance.

"I'd be dead at birth if I was," Weiss let out a short, snarky laugh at her own dark humor. She snapped her attention back to me when she stared off longer than she wanted. She rubbed her temples and grunted out a heavy sigh. "We should head back to our room. I think the stench is giving me a headache."

"Hold on." I held up a hand.

Weiss stayed in place, her hands now at her hips. But her patience wore thin as the odor didn't sit right with her. I could easily tell by visually measuring how deep her scowls were.

With the smell wafted into my nose, the scent locked in and the final pieces connected together. An image of a path fabricated in my mind, and I pointed to the opposite direction from where we were heading.

"It's this way."

"What?" Her scowl broke as she now wore a puzzled expression.

Turning my heels, I started to pursue the scented path.

"Wait, Ruby!" Weiss called out when I started ahead of her. She scurried to catch up and she deliberately induced a blank expression the moment she turned my way. "What are we doing?"

"Following the scent," I replied nonchalantly. My eyes didn't tear away from the path. I marched straight ahead navigating us to find its origins.

"And why are we doing that?" She inquired, not a single thrill in her voice.

"Well…" I slowly ran a hand through my bangs and pushed them back to keep them out of my sight as I walked. "I'm trying to figure out who this scent belongs to."

Weiss responded quietly with a single hum. "What's so special about it?"

"It's not exactly special…" I trailed off trying to piece my words together. "It keeps on disappearing whenever I come close to it. One minute the scent is locked in. The next second it just magically vanishes."

"Magically vanishing?" Weiss' brows rose so high that it towered over Beacon. "That sounds a bit far fetched. Are you sure there wasn't anything that could've hindered you? It happened before."

"There wasn't. I'm positive," I assured her. There wasn't anything pungent in the forest that could've prevented me from tracking it. Absolutely nothing. "It happened a couple of times. It just… Up and instantly vanished."

"I see…" Weiss took note of it but wasn't entirely convinced of my story.

"I don't understand how that logically works..."

"Semblance is a possibility," she speculated.

I snorted. "Now that sounds a bit far fetched."

She half shrugged in response. "It's not entirely wrong."

"It's not," I admitted. "But the idea itself sounds odd. Let's say, hypothetically, it is a semblance. The whole situation doesn't make sense. It just shows that whoever this person is… Is trying to avoid me."

"Perhaps that's their intention," Weiss deducted.

I frowned at that idea.

All for what?

Silence crashed down around us. Our conversation tapered off, our footsteps now replacing it.

The trail we followed had us crossing through hallways and skipping past a few lecture halls. I tried to match the scent with the people who I came across with recently, but I couldn't figure who it was remotely connected to.

It was still hazy.

"It's getting stronger," I mumbled confidently to Weiss.

Determined to put a face on this scent, my pace quickened. I briskly crossed through a corridor that led us to the other side of the dormitories.

Taking long and quick strides, I hurried to get to the bottom of the trail while Weiss closely followed behind.

"Ruby, can you slow down a bit?" Shortness of breath, Weiss began to pant. The carpet didn't do much to soften our rushing strides as it echoed noisily across the walls. "The scent isn't going anywhere this time. We're in close quarters!"

"It might vanish instantly again!" I reminded her. I didn't want to take any chances. If I was given an opportunity to figure this out, then I'll take it.

I smelled two other scents tagged along with the one I was originally following, making it a total of three people.

When the scent became stronger, a few voices accompanied with it. They were just around the corner at the end of the hallway. As much as I wanted to eavesdrop in their conversation, the range of my hearing had a limit. It couldn't extend beyond that far especially with other background noise conflicting with it.

From what I could make out from their indistinct chatters, it was a heated discussion.

As Weiss and I drew closer, one voice became recognizable. He tried to conciliate one individual specifically and provided his own reasons to why it must happen this way. The heat emanating from the conversation abated as the other two had withdrawn from the conversation to hear him out.

"Is that…?" Weiss questioned hesitantly as she slowly pieced together who that voice belonged to.

"Yeah it is."

I knew exactly who Weiss was referring to. No one in Beacon could have possibly mistaken it.

However, it wasn't his scent that I was purposefully following. Nor was it the other individual, an aroma that had a subtle hint of perfume. It was the other one.

The one that carried a vague scent of distilled spirits.

As Weiss and I approached the corner of the hallway, the voice waned and the conversation dropped entirely. The hallway was silent again, our shuffling shoes becoming the dominant noise. Right before we rounded the corner, the trail that Weiss and I had been following suddenly went missing.

Poof.

Just like that. It vanished.

It was exactly similar to the time at the forest.

"Professor Ozpin," Weiss greeted politely. She curtsied respectfully when he came into sight. "And Professor Goodwitch. Hello."

"Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch," I greeted as well but with less sincerity. My eyes cut between the two and I took in a final whiff from the air.

I wasn't mistaken.

The scent had really disappeared because it wasn't these two. They smelled nothing close to distilled spirits. Just bitter coffee and flowery fragrance.

"Hello, Miss Schnee. Hello to you too, Miss Rose." Professor Ozpin pushed his spectacles above the bridge of his nose, a smile gracing his features warmly. "What brings you two here in such a rush? With the racket you two were making, Professor Goodwitch and I could hear you all the way down here."

"I told you to slow down," Weiss rolled her eyes at me.

I rubbed the side of my neck at their remarks.

"Sorry Professor Ozpin," I bowed my head and apologized. "It's just… I was following something and it led me here."

"Something?" With a smile still stretched on his lips, the headmaster cocked his head to the side. "What could that possibly be?"

"I'm not exactly sure…" I honestly admitted.

Between the two races, it definitely did not smell anything close to a Faunus. So that was ruled out. But I didn't understand how a human scent was able to disappear that quickly.

That was impossible. Wasn't it?

"Was there another person with you guys by any chance?" I sprung the question onto them.

Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch exchanged a look before the headmaster took the initiative to answer.

"None that I have noticed." There was a little strum in his throat when he replied.

Why had I picked up three human scents earlier?

Then again… There were two scents now.

What the hell was going on with me?

"Strange," Weiss muttered my thoughts aloud for me. My intensely skewed frown caught her attention and she tried to put me at ease. "Perhaps your nose is playing tricks on you?"

What?

My nose betraying me?

I shot Weiss a strange look and she unknowingly shrugged back in response.

Ozpin darted his eyes towards the corner of the ceiling and kept them glued there. Bewildered to why his gaze averted, I followed his line of sight to see what had caught the headmaster's attention for so long.

And there, sitting in the dark on a wooden beam, was a dark shadow.

It cawed loudly — loud enough to make students wonder why there was a bird indoors. My ears flickered and my silver eyes studied it for a while.

It looked similar to the one in the forest…

Perhaps it's just my imagination?

"There was a disturbance reported earlier," Professor Goodwitch explained as she noticed how we were distracted by the bird's presence. "A bird accidentally wandered through the dormitories. Professor Ozpin and I were tending to this... Problem."

"Do you need help?" I offered my assistance. I watched the bird ruffled its feathers with its beak. "I can get it for you."

"Thank you, but there is no need Miss Rose." Ozpin softly chuckled. He shifted onto one side and leaned into his cane. "I believe the bird will fly out on its own and continue what it was planning originally."

"Are you sure…?"

The bird didn't budge from its spot, its red eyes now glaring down at us.

"I don't think a bird would be able to wander out without guidance," Weiss doubted as well.

"Some birds are intelligent creatures," Ozpin disagreed. Without taking his eyes away from the bird, he continued with his explanation. "Crows and ravens tend to be regarded as the most intelligent in its kind. Do you agree, Professor Goodwitch?"

The professor nodded.

"And despite their playful behavior," Ozpin elaborated. "They're quite the hunters. Their cunningness and their ability to use any means or tools to survive… We can learn a thing or two from them."

Weiss and I shared a glance with each other before returning to Ozpin.

"So with that," the headmaster wrapped up the conversation. "I can say with certainty that this wandering bird here will be able to find its way out. If not, then eventually."

Ozpin coupled his response with a reassuring smile, and with his cane, he walked past us. Professor Goodwitch followed right at his side. A tap here against the carpet and a tap there, the tapping sound stopped when Ozpin paused.

"Before I forget," he slowly turned back to us. He hesitated for a moment. His expression didn't give away his thoughts but he did seemed troubled. For once, his smile fell as an apologetic frown replaced it. "Team RWBY are to report at the arena before dinner. Miss Rose, please bring your combat gear with you as well."

"How about us?" Weiss asked, frowning. "Are we required to bring ours?"

"That will not be necessary, Miss Schnee. You and Miss Xiao Long and Miss Belladonna will be spectating."

Spectating?

"It's not a team thing?" I asked, visibly confused. Most of our training had been team focused. If not, then partner centered.

"I'm afraid not. See it as an individual test." He studied me before switching over to Weiss. "Are there any other questions?"

He gave us a moment to think, and Weiss and I shared another look with each other. She shook her head when nothing came to mind. However, one question surfaced for me.

"What am I fighting…?" I asked cautiously.

My ears flickered when the bird noisily cawed.

Was it a Grimm?

An obstacle course?

Maybe it was a highly advanced robotic machine designed and imported from Atlas?

"Or…" There was another possibility that I had not considered. " _Who_ am I fighting?"

Our gaze met, but Ozpin didn't speak immediately. He stood silently in thought. His eyes shot down to the carpet for a brief second. I thought I saw a flash of guilt coming from them, but I disregarded as some trickery of light.

"I'm sorry Miss Rose." His words weighed heavily as his voice had suddenly gone softer. Sincere and apologetic, he continued. "It is not my place to disclose that information. You will know when the time comes."

I opened my mouth, but decided otherwise. With Professor Ozpin unexpected change in tone, I quickly accepted his obscurity and did not press any further.

I just quietly nodded.

"If there are no further questions," Ozpin cleared his throat, his voice leveling back to normal again. "We will be on our way. Professor Goodwitch?"

He turned back to let her know that he was finished. Being unusually quiet, she simply gave a nod. The two professors took off down the hallway. With how poised they walked, their feet didn't give out too much noise.

"Are you sure?" Professor Goodwitch sounded very concern.

"It's the only way." Headmaster Ozpin answered regretfully.

"There are other alternatives..."

"We need quick results. Our past mistakes cannot be repeated."

"And what if it's true?"

"Then we will —"

My ears couldn't pick up their conversation as their hushed voices were no longer in range. Their backs grew smaller and smaller until they disappeared down the hallway.

"Ruby, that's terrific news!" Weiss praised proudly. "Professor Ozpin must have acknowledged your abilities."

"You think that's the reason?" I asked hesitantly.

Something about it made me feel anxious. It wasn't just the scent disappearing from the beginning. There was that conversation between Professor Goodwitch and Headmaster Ozpin.

Past mistakes?

Alternatives?

What were they talking about…?

"Why else would he want you to bring your combat gears? More than not, he wants you to demonstrate your skills."

"I guess so…" I mumbled half convinced.

"You should be happy." Weiss slapped my back which caused me to lurch forward.

"Hey — !"

"You're fortunate to be given this honorary challenge. A lot of people, including me, would be delighted if we were in your position. So why do you sound so unsure?"

"Maybe a little bit anxious?" I answered with uncertainty.

"You'll be fine, Ruby," she said with a faint curve on her lips. She placed her hand on my shoulder and gave a little squeeze. She regarded me with those gentle blue eyes.

"You're right," I breathed out a sigh. She was worried… That look she was giving me was a dead giveaway.

I stopped over analyzing the situation. I figured there was enough to worry about. One little fight wasn't worth adding onto our plate.

"I'm always right," she responded not so humbly.

I stifled a laugh. Weiss wasn't right all the time, but I didn't want to rain on her parade.

"We should probably head back and tell Yang and Blake the news."

"Right," Weiss agreed. We turned back to the direction from where we came and continued on.

"How do you think they're doing?"

"I'm certain they're fine," Weiss replied without seeming too bothered. "Your sister knows how to comfort someone if the situation requires it."

"Yeah…" I rubbed the back of my neck when I recalled a certain incident with Torchwick. "She's good at that."

"Being Blake's partner and all," Weiss continued. "She was probably able to get Blake to open up. You noticed didn't you? How Blake seemed more distant."

"She probably had a lot going through her mind," I assumed.

Like how I had a lot on my mind.

"With our encounter with the White Fangs, I wouldn't be surprised."

"Are you thinking that she's concern about the White Fangs?"

"With their inexcusable relations with Torchwick, I don't see how it isn't. If I was in her shoes, I would want to know what they are scheming."

I stroke my chin when her comments sank into my thoughts. What she said was true. Like what Team JNPR commented earlier ago, the White Fangs refused to collaborate with any one other than their kind. Seeing the two together was off putting.

Something was wrong with that picture.

By the time we arrived to our room, Weiss dug into her pocket for her scroll. Right as she was about to disengage the electronic lock, I grasped her hand to refrain her from doing so.

Weiss opened her mouth to protest, but I pressed my finger against my lips to hush her.

"Listen," I whispered quietly.

She stared at me vacantly and cocked her head to why I had stopped her. But from the glint sparking in her eyes, she understood why.

"Don't think about doing this alone, Blake."

Weiss and I heard Yang's voice coming through the door. The heiress pressed her ears against the thick wood while I leaned against it. Having sharp hearing made it more convenient. I didn't need to attach myself against the wall like some tree slug.

"Yang, I can't sit back and do nothing. The White Fangs are my business. The rest of you shouldn't be involved in this mess."

"But we're already involved!" Yang argued back. "I get it. You're concerned about the White Fangs as well as our team's well being. But we should investigate this matter together. You know… As a _team_."

Yang emphasized the team part quite loudly to get it through Blake's thick skull.

Blake sighed.

"Sometimes doing things alone might not be the best idea…" Yang pressed on with a sadder tone in her voice. "Trust me on this, Blake."

"You've done it before...?" Blake asked. Their conversation had taken a turn as they dived into something a little more personal.

This time, Yang sighed as she started to explain.

"When Ruby was ten years old, I was twelve. Our dad took us to Vale for the first time, and Ruby and I weren't exactly easy to handle."

Yang spoke with a hint of amusement as she recalled one of her fondest memories.

"We took off running and left our dad in the dust. I don't know why. We were silly at that time."

"That's when Ruby and I physically bumped into the White Fangs." Her voice started to drop low and became more frail at the faintest recollection of that particular time.

"Things eventually got a little out of hand, but did you know what Ruby told me to do?" Yang prompted the question. I took Blake's silence as a no.

"She told me to run," Yang drew a short somber laugh afterwards. "I was so stupid at that time. They wanted her, not me. And she told me to get away from here."

"And I ran," Yang chewed out bitterly. "I'm supposed to be the responsible one, but yet, I still ran. I regretted it, Blake. I should've been there for Ruby."

"You were only a child. What more could you have done?" Blake tried to justify her actions. "This was out of your hands."

"I still blamed myself for it!" Yang slammed a fist against the wall.

I winced. My ears had folded at the unexpected noise while Weiss had jolted back at the startle. Chewing the bottom of my lips, I partially crossed my arms and gripped down as I took all this in.

About Yang…

I had no idea that she felt like this.

"Ruby and I were already training to become huntresses. If I haven't ran, I could've done something!"

Hearing Yang's story, Blake stayed quiet.

"I shouldn't have ran…"

Weiss wasn't able to catch that last murmur, but I heard it. Her voice weighed heavily with regret as she couldn't undo her mistake in the past.

"A lot of people in my life had already disappeared," Yang mentioned hurtfully. "My mother, Ruby's mother, and then Ruby. Whether it was by choice or not, they disappeared."

"So I investigated," she said. "I barely had any clues about my own mother's whereabouts. Ruby's mom was forever out of the picture. So that left with me with Ruby. At the age of twelve, I decided to find Ruby all by my lonesome self. I was so determined to find her that I barely slept and I barely ate. But I could only go so far."

"Yang…" was all Blake could manage out.

"I eventually collapsed from exhaustion. I was lucky that my uncle had found me."

Yang paused to draw in a sharp breath.

"So what I'm trying to say is let's do this as a team. We can go much further if we do this together."

Blake didn't respond immediately. It made me wonder what went through her mind after listening to Yang talk about a piece of our past.

"Alright. Fine," she conceded. "You convinced me."

"R-Really? I mean that's great!" I could practically hear Yang beaming. "We should start soon! Let's go tell the others."

Blake chuckled. "I don't think we need to tell them at all."

I flinched when I heard footsteps approaching this way from the other side of the door. They were Blake's. I could tell. The way Blake walked was much lighter compared to Yang's, and she had suddenly stopped right at the door.

Uh oh.

"Why not?" Yang sounded very puzzled.

"Because."

Weiss quietly yelped when I tugged her away from the doorway. I figured the last thing she probably wanted was falling flat on her face and blemishing her perfect skin.

The door pulled open, and we were greeted by a smiling Blake and a very confused Yang peering over her shoulders.

"Ruby?" Yang was taken aback. "Weiss too?"

"You're not the only Faunus," Blake mused. Her bow twitched to remind us what she hid underneath.

Weiss wiggled out of my grip and played it cool by smoothing down the nonexistent wrinkles on her skirt. She then crossed her arms and uttered a humph.

"It was Ruby's idea."

"Weiss is just as guilty as I am," I mimicked her.

I felt bad that I couldn't do anything for Blake, but I was happy that she returned back her normal self for the most part. It seemed like the conversation with Yang had helped her a lot.

"You two aren't in trouble," Blake rolled her eyes at our childish retorts. "I assume you two overheard?"

Weiss and I nodded. I glanced back to Yang, but she had her eyes casted elsewhere, anywhere but me.

"How do you two feel about trying to find out what the White Fangs are plotting?" The cat Faunus asked.

"Seeing how dust is one of their primary targets, I'm pretty curious myself," Weiss gave her opinion.

"If it takes one less worry from your mind, then I'm all for it." I loosely shrugged. "But it's probably best if we discuss during or after dinner."

"Professor Ozpin want us to gather at the arena," the heiress elaborated some more.

"Arena…?" Blake murmured as she cupped her chin, pondering.

"I'm supposed to participate in a fight while the rest of you guys spectate," I explained to her. "I'm not exactly certain what I'm going up against since Ozpin did not disclose that to either of us, but I don't think it'll be too much of a challenge."

"Regardless, you need to prepare," Weiss inputted afterwards.

"I know. I know," I droned.

"Oh, that's fantastic Ruby." Blake nodded her head in acknowledgement as she took the news in.

"See," Weiss gave me an obvious look of an 'I told you so'. "Even Blake agrees that you're in a good position."

I chuckled in response. When my eyes returned back to Yang again, she still was the same as before. She avoided my gaze, and it made me worried.

"Let's head out then," I decided.

"Now?" Weiss wrinkled her nose.

"You told me to prepare."

"She got you there," Blake chuckled as she headed straight for the door.

"Let's go," I tried to hurry Weiss out of the room.

"I'm going. I'm going," she grunted.

I intentionally lagged behind while Blake and Weiss had filed out of the room. Yang strode past me but I grasped her hand firmly before she could get away. There was something eating Yang, and I knew why.

"Ruby?"

Right when Yang turned around, I closed in for a hug. It had surprised her and she finally found the strength to reciprocate the embrace. I rubbed my hands soothingly across her back.

I didn't say anything because I didn't need to.

I didn't know Yang had that all bottled up deep inside her heart. I didn't know she blamed herself for it all. I didn't know she lived with guilt and regrets. I wished I knew earlier so I could have taken it all away sooner.

"I'm sorry," Yang spoke quietly. She knew I had overheard her story.

Her apology sunk in and my arms tightened around her waist. I nuzzled into her, giving her the best comfort I could possibly give.

"Don't be," I told her. I closed my eyes and felt the warmth of her hug as she clung onto me. It wasn't much, but it was a small start. A simple seed planted hoping it will blossom and take away the old pain sitting inside her heart. "It was never your fault to begin with."

* * *

"You have everything prepared?"

Weiss attentively watched as I equipped my gears in the locker room. Blake and Yang had already wished me luck before going up ahead. Taking the partner responsibility role quite seriously, Weiss purposefully stayed back to make sure everything was in order.

"Yep." I attached my weapon onto the magnetic holder. Weiss watched how I readjusted my clothes and my cape. "I'm set to go."

"That's good." She quietly nodded after she inspected me from head to toe. "Before you take off… Here."

She handed me a cartridge containing dust specifically fit for Crescent Rose.

"You think I might need it?"

"Taking precaution that's all."

"Thanks then." I smiled gratefully.

I took it and swapped the empty case for the newer one. Once I felt ready, I reached her gaze a final time. She had her eyes trained on me for awhile, but it seemed like there was another reason for that — like as if something was on her mind.

"Are you worried?"

Weiss absently rubbed her upper arm trying to debate what to say. "That's not it."

"Something is troubling you though," I said observantly. I leaned forward trying to catch those eyes that had fallen to the floor. With her head dipped down, the only thing I caught a glimpse of was Weiss biting her lower lips.

"Troubling wouldn't exactly be the right word for it…"

I pulled myself away to give her the needed space after noticing the confliction across her face. I gave her a moment to gather her thoughts, but I spoke first to break the thick silence between us.

"Want to talk about it?" I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly.

"Trying to…" She softly muttered. "Just… Give me an another moment."

Weiss drew a deep breath before slowly letting it all out. She slid her bangs away from her eyes and brought her chin back up. I could see her resolve, but the bashful voice and that accompanying shy smile coming afterward caught me off guard.

"When your battle is over," her voice picked up some semblance of courage. "I'll give you my answer."

It took me awhile to understand what she was referring to. But it finally registered in my head that she was alluding to our conversation at the docks — the time of my confession.

I had never thought that Weiss would be so… Meek about it.

"Okay!" My smile turned soft to appropriately match Weiss'. Regardless of what her answer was… "I look forward to it."

Wordlessly, she nodded in affirmation. Before I turned my back towards her, I gave her a toothy grin.

"I'll win. For you and the team, I'll bring us a victory."

"You better." There was no bite in it. Instead, she smiled sweetly.

My tail now turned to her, I strode down the long tunnel towards classroom arena. I heard a final good luck whispering from behind as it echoed against the walls.

As I slowly made my entrance, Yang waved from where she had sat. Blake, who was sitting adjacently, smiled while Weiss had barely just taken her seat. Professor Goodwitch and Headmaster Ozpin each stood at their sides from the bleachers. They watched me intently as their faces remained unreadable.

They hadn't spoke, made any announcements, or set the rules. It was unusual, but I didn't think any of it.

When I made my way to the middle of the arena grounds, I caught that smell again.

The same smell that had been messing with me for an entire time. The scent of distilled spirits became stronger. The heavy footsteps echoing down the hallway from the other entrance became louder.

My heart drummed in anticipation.

Was the person finally going to show themselves?

I held my ground, feeling antsy. I felt it tingling down to my toes as I waited for the person to reveal themselves.

When moment came, I quietly gasped.

My breath had gotten trapped in my throat when the person slowly emerged from the shadows of the tunnel. Head hanging down, his dull red eyes peered pass his fallen bangs until he slicked his hair back.

I knew him.

I remembered him.

The man who taught me the basics of a scythe.

"Uncle Qrow…?" Yang murmured from the sidelines. She was just as shocked as I was.

"That's your uncle?" I heard Weiss ask in confusion.

"Ruby is sparring with your uncle?" Blake was bewildered as well.

"Hey." He quietly greeted me as we stood face to face a distance away.

He looked rough compared to the last time I had seen him — rougher than the time of Summer's passing. He looked as if the alcohol had been eating him rather than the other way around.

"Uncle… Qrow?" His name escaped out of my lips slowly. Saying it made me feel warm inside. I liked it.

He weakly smiled back to me, remaining silent as if he had nothing special to say.

I shifted my feet forward in hesitation. I had forgotten why I was in the arena in the first place as Uncle Qrow's presence filled my mind. I had been absent from his life for so many damn years that seeing him again felt surreal.

I missed him dearly.

I took another step forward followed with another. My legs had a mind of its own as it was taking me to him. I was prepared to hurl myself at him for a long hug, but a startling gunshot echoing deafeningly within the confines of the arena had stopped me. The ringing noise screeched into my ears until my hearing regained its senses over the course of seconds.

My blood instantly went cold and my heart, figuratively, stopped.

Shakily, I brought my hand up to my cheek and touched where I had felt the sharp sting. The color drained from my face when I saw how my own blood sullied my fingers.

Why…?

My aura instinctively flared up and healed the cut.

Why would he…?

It was only a surface wound, but I knew that it was only a warning gunfire. Qrow had intentionally missed.

"Take your weapon, Ruby."

Qrow did not repeat again. He pulled the trigger once more and I narrowly dodged the ear piercing round as I leapt and rolled out of the way.

My heart and mind sank into panic as Qrow trudged forward, his weapon raised at me. His sword transformed into his scythe and he intimidatingly approached closer.

"Fight." Qrow swallowed thickly.

He flicked his scythe and slung it over his shoulders, looking more like a decaying specter rather than the loving uncle. It wasn't just his actions and his words that made my world spiral. The guilt-ridden, pained expression on his face had threw me entirely off.

He looked too remorseful to be the harbinger of death.

"Fight like your life depends on it."


End file.
